HARIPUR: The crisis-ridden country cannot afford snap polls as the exercise will cost Rs6-8 billion, says Dr Faiza Rasheed, Qaumi Watan Party’s provincial vice-chairperson.

Talking to mediapersons at the Haripur Press Club here on Sunday, she said the country was facing the worst ever financial crisis and the situation was so critical that the foreign reserves had almost dried up and the government was unable to make payments for the import of petrol that was essential to keep the system running.

“Call for snap polls is uncalled-for when the country’s economy is in dire straits and the political instability is deepening,” she said, suggesting the political leadership join hands in the country’s larger interests.

She also painted a gloomy picture of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s financial position and said whatever the government had in its exchequer was spent on the PTI’s protest campaign, while salaries of government employees were being delayed.

Dr Faiza, who is also a former MPA of PPP and daughter of a known socialist Hakim Abdul Rasheed, claimed the educated middle class politicians, who were groomed in the political nursery of PPP and other pro-democracy parties during the late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s era were discouraged and stopped from entering the parliament, while those belonging to drug and land mafia were encouraged and made members of the provincial and national cabinets.

She said making the elections easy and inexpensive with a true sense of accountability could help sift out the rogue elements and encourage the true and selfless democrats and educated people to make it to the parliament and deliver for the wellbeing of people. She claimed announcement regarding appointment of the new army chief would be made in next couple of days.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2022