ISLAMABAD, July 20: Major opposition parties have termed Thursday’s speech of President Pervez Musharraf ‘disappointing’ and a failed attempt to justify rising inflation and loadshedding as proof of increase in income and industrialisation.

The opposition leaders said that the speech was tantamount to rubbing salt on the wounds of the people and there was no mention of scandals of corruption.

People’s Party Parliamentarians spokesman Farhatullah Khan Babar termed Gen Musharraf’s address an attempt to hoodwink the people and criticise the opposition for highlighting the failures of the government.

Mr Babar said the real causes of inflation were the wasteful expenses on unproductive projects like the building of new General Headquarters in Islamabad, purchase of SAAB aircraft and VVIP planes and corruption that had recently come to surface before the parliamentary committees and the Supreme Court.

“It is most painful that while people are committing suicides due to economic reasons, the regime is gloating that these suicides are a proof of the country’s economic development,” he said.

“Was the oil price increase a result of increased industrialisation or the outcome of manipulations by the scheming cartel of oil marketing companies with the connivance of the regime?” he asked.

Mr Babar said loadshedding was the result of incompetence of the regime.

The PPP leader said Gen Musharraf had admitted that the security of the country was in danger that could be strengthened by national unity but he was pursuing a course of action quite opposite to what he prescribed.

He said that on one hand the regime had pitted the army against its own people in Balochistan and the tribal areas and on the other hand it was chasing and hounding the political opposition.

PML-N information secretary Ahsan Iqbal said the speech was a big disappointment as the nation wanted to know who were behind the Pakistan Steel Mills and stock market scams and who had created the sugar crisis in the country.

He said it was unfortunate that the president did not speak about the scandals which were the top concern for every Pakistani. He said Gen Musharraf had admitted that there was price hike but his argument was based on poor understanding of economics.

Liaquat Baloch of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal termed the speech as mere ‘rhetoric’. He said Gen Musharraf had hinted at change in parliamentary system in the country.

He regretted that Gen Musharraf was feeling proud over the killing of people in Balochistan and the tribal areas. He said that Gen Musharraf did not speak on the real demand of the people that there should be no role of the military in politics.