• PTI slams ‘double-digit inflation’; blames high petrol price for deepening public hardship
• Accuses rulers of hiding ‘incompetence’ behind global factors
• Achakzai warns intelligence agencies against ‘political interference’; Barrister Salman vows continued push for Imran’s release

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Opposition on Saturday launched a sweeping assault on the government, accusing it of failing to control rampant inflation, suppressing media freedoms and allowing intelligence agencies to overstep their constitutional role in politics.

In a multi-pronged offensive, senior leaders from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and its allies condemned what they termed the government’s “incompetence” and authoritarian tactics.

At a press conference, National Assembly Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achak­zai issued a stark warning to the country’s intelligence agencies, while a separate statement from PTI detailed the severe economic and social pressures facing ordinary citizens.

PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram in a stamement criticised the government’s performance on several fronts, leading with its economic policies. He said double-digit inflation had surpassed official forecasts, driving up the costs of energy, transport, and essential food items.

“The public was grappling with extreme economic pressure, yet the government was attempting to hide its ‘incompetence’ behind an excuse by shifting the blame onto global conditions, which PTI strongly rejected,” Mr Akram said, arguing that neighbouring countries had managed the crisis more effectively.

“Continuous increase in petroleum prices has further intensified the inflationary pressure, making transport, electricity, wheat, vegetables, and other essential commodities unaffordable for the common man,” the statement read.

“PTI demands that the government immediately reduce the petroleum levy, control the prices of essential commodities, and take urgent measures to provide real relief to the public.”

Mr Akram also addressed the state of press freedom, citing a recent report from the global watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). He noted the report’s finding that press freedom had reached a “critical low point globally”, a trend he said was dangerously apparent in Pakistan.

“In Pakistan as well, a dangerous rise has been observed in media pressure, censorship, and the harassment of journalists,” he said. Mr Akram described the misuse of laws to stifle criticism, pressure on media outlets, and attempts to silence journalists as “poisonous to democracy,” adding that a strong democratic system is impossible without a free press.

The PTI spokesman also condemned what he called a “selective” anti-encroachment drive in Islamabad, highlighting the Prime Minister’s decision to halt an eviction at the One Constitution Avenue complex. He criticised the policy as anti-poor, stating that “houses of the poor were being bulldozed, rendering them homeless, while the powerful remained untouched.”

Furthermore, Mr Akram targeted the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government in Sindh, dismissing its claims of creating a world-class health system as being “detached from ground realities.” He pointed to reports indicating that over 75 per cent of top-tier health management positions in the province remained vacant.

“This is not a minor administrative gap but a collapse of leadership and oversight at the highest level,” he said, noting that stalled promotions and leadership vacancies have left communities vulnerable to outbreaks of HIV, measles, dengue, and malaria.

Achakzai warns agencies

Separately, speaking at an event hosted by the Haqooq-i-Khalq Party, Mr Achakzai called on intelligence agencies to refrain from political interference.

“Politics is not their cup of tea and they must stay within their domain and do their job,” he said.

He suggested the country was heading toward internal conflict, asserting that “forces lose when people rise to get their rights.”

Mr Achakzai further alleged that the establishment was actively engineering a “minus-Imran Khan” political landscape and claimed that military officials were unduly influencing civil administration.

“The Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) will condemn such a move and resist it at every level,” he asserted. “Genuine leadership is in jails, while people with dubious credentials are in assemblies.”

Mr Achakzai said Pakistan was undergoing a serious crisis as all state institutions had been ruined, citing that the Supreme Court had snatched a political party’s electoral symbol and Khan was denied meetings with lawyers and family.

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja echoed these sentiments, affirming his loyalty to the party’s founder, Imran Khan, who remains incarcerated.

“Those are foolish, who think that the people of Pakistan could be suppressed and rejected,” Mr Raja said. “There is nothing more important than Imran Khan’s health and his release from unjustified incarceration.” He argued that the economic future of the nation’s farmers and poor was directly linked to Mr Khan’s freedom.

Concluding his statement, Mr Akram reaffirmed PTI’s commitment to its core causes: “PTI would continue its struggle for the release of PTI founder Imran Khan and other prisoners.”

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2026