ISLAMABAD: The major opposition parties have described Prime Minister Imran Khan’s announcement on Monday to reduce oil and electricity prices as a “futile and desperate last-ditch attempt” to save his government.

Reacting to the PM’s address to the nation, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) leaders claimed that Mr Khan had made these announcements under pressure and out of the fear of the opposition’s planned long marches and no-confidence motion.

The opposition leaders also termed the relief insufficient keeping in view the prevailing inflation and frequent increase in petroleum and power prices since the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) came to power in 2018.

Calling it a speech by a “terrified and defeated person”, they said it was PM’s “last address” to the nation.

“The PTI government had increased electricity tariff by Rs15 per unit over the past three years and reduced it by Rs5 to fool the nation,” said PML-N information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb. “Over the past three years, the price of petrol was jacked up by Rs70 per litre by the PTI. Still, desperate to save his job, Imran was using the eyewash of reducing it by just Rs10 per litre.”

She said the credit for the drop in prices actually went to the joint opposition amid the growing fear of a no-confidence motion.

Alleging that the premier had presented “fudged figures” during his speech, she said the current account deficit under the PTI government would reach an all-time high of $20 billion, which had never happened in the country’s history. In terms of GDP, she said, this current account deficit was highest since Gen Musharraf’s era.

Ms Aurangzeb accused Mr Khan of lying to the nation by claiming that the PTI had government collected Rs6 trillion in taxes, while asserting that the PML-N government had collected Rs4tr in taxes.

She said inflation in Pakistan was more than double of the inflation of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Quoting The Economist, she said Pakistan had become the third-most expensive country after Argentina and Turkey.

A spokesman for the Bilawal House in a statement said the Awami march launched by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had forced the PM to announce cut in oil and power prices.

The unnamed spokesman said it was his last speech, stating that he (Imran) knew his days were numbered.

“The prime minister’s speech was a pack of lies and his body language was like that of a defeated player,” said the spokesman. He also ridiculed the explanation given by Mr Khan for changing the social media laws.

PPP secretary general Nayyar Bokhari said PM’s resignation was the ‘only solution’ to rising prices.

In his statement, ANP president Asfandyar Wali Khan said only two weeks ago, the government had increased oil prices by up to Rs12 per litre and then the PM had announced Rs10 reduction “which is a joke with the nation.”

Similarly, he said, only in the morning, Nepra had approved Rs5.96 per unit increase in the electricity price and in the evening, the prime minister announced Rs5 reduction. “Imran Khan is making a drama of providing relief to the people due to the pressure from opposition and out of the fear of losing power,” he said, while demanded early elections in the country after carrying out electoral reforms.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2022