LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has questioned how the establishment is allowing the country to head towards a complete economic meltdown.

In a tweet on Monday, Mr Khan lamented that the Pakistan economy was going into a free fall and the dollar had touched Rs315 in the open market. The non-CNIC holders are required to pay Rs320 to Rs325 for each dollar. “The gap between the official rate and open market rate is Rs30 per dollar.”

The ‘dollarisation of the economy’ meant no local or foreign investment into the country, which would result in GDP’s contraction and worse, lead to hyperinflation, he added.

The ex-PM also wrote, “The PDM leaders have billions of dollars stashed abroad, and understandably they are not pushed. The question is, how on earth is the Pakistani establishment allowing the country to head towards a complete economic meltdown?”

Jamshed Dasti pledges loyalty to PTI chief

Calling the PDM government as ‘fascist’ and far worse than Gen Musharaf’s martial law, the PTI chairman reiterated that it was showing complete disregard for the rule of law, with their only agenda being crushing his party.

Mr Khan has been assailing the government’s performance on the economic front over the last week. On Friday, he tweeted: “When one man made the decision behind closed doors to remove our govt and bring back the same cabal of crooks who had been plundering Pak for three decades, it resulted in our economy tanking and going into a tailspin.”

The next day, he assailed the spiralling dollar price, which was Rs310 in the open market, saying that the “historic devaluation of the rupee doesn’t matter” because the ‘ill-gotten wealth of PDM leaders’ is stashed abroad in dollars. “It will be the people of Pakistan who will experience inflation and poverty while PDM leaders will be beneficiaries of this fall.”

“While our debt is accumulating at the fastest rate ever, the economy is shri­n­­­king. All our annual tax revenue collections do not even cover the interest that we have to pay on our loans,” he said.

Candidates, lawyers meet Imran

Earlier in the day, PTI ticket-holders from Muzaffargarh Jamshed Dasti (PP-274) and Mian Imran Dhanotor (PP-273) as well as Dr Saeed and Ayaz Ahmad called on Mr Khan at his Zaman Park residence where they discussed the arrest of PTI leaders and workers in the wake of May 9 violence and overall political situation in the country.

The PTI ticket-holders assured Mr Khan that the masses from Muzaffar­g­arh were standing with him for uphol­ding of rule of law and democracy in the country.

During the day, two delegations of lawyers from Jhang, Kasur and Sambrial called on Mr Khan at his residence. They expressed the desire to join his party and become part of his mission to ensure upholding of rule of law.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2023