QUETTA: The government has no plans to extricate the nation from the “dangerous political and economic mess” staring it in the face, Mohsin Dawar, the Chair­man of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), said while speaking to journalists at the Quetta Press Club on Saturday.

“The IMF has come out with tough, demeaning conditions for approving a paltry amount of $ 1 billion due to the government’s weak bargaining position,” Mr Dawar observed.

Former senator Afrasiab Khan Khattak, who heads the NDM’s research and policy committee, secretary general Muzammil Shah and Ahmed Jan, chief of the party’s provincial chapter, also spoke on the occasion.

Mr Khattak said the commission on missing persons, headed by Sardar Akhtar Mengal, had completed its work and would submit a report to the Islamabad High Court soon.

Mohsin Dawar said the government’s reluctance to announce a date for elections to the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies had caused uncertainty in the country.

“The government is violating the Constitution by not giving dates for elections in Punjab and KPK. This would further aggravate the situation.”

Mohsin Dawar expressed concern over frequent attacks by the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), saying the outfit was striking at law enforcers at will.

He called upon political parties to put their heads together for finding a way out of the “economic meltdown” confronting the country.

“National institutions will be stable and strong if we respect the Cons­titution,” Mr Dawar said.

He cautioned against making Pakistan a “launching pad” for an “Afghan adventure” yet gain.

Afrasiab Khattak said if the country dafaulted on foreign loans, the situation would get “more complicated”.

The world’s major powers have their sights on their geopolitical interests and use other countries as “pawns to further their designs”, the NDM leader said.

China is rapidly cat­­ching up with the United States and its One Belt One Road initiative had started ringing alarm bells in Wash­ington, Afrasiab Khattak obs­erved.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2023