LAHORE:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday blasted the government over the latest increase in petroleum prices, denouncing it as “economic terrorism”.
The party also announced a boycott of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, demanded a judicial probe into the alleged wheat shortage while calling for the immediate release and medical treatment of jailed party founder Imran Khan and other political prisoners.
It alleged that while reductions in international oil prices were never passed on to consumers, even minor increases were reflected domestically within 48 hours along with additional taxes.
PTI claimed that during Imran Khan’s tenure, petrol was maintained at Rs150 per litre despite the “worst global crude oil supercycle”.
It also criticised those who had previously demanded petrol at Rs70 per litre, alleging that they now justified prices exceeding Rs300 and even Rs400. The party accused the government of shifting the burden of economic hardship onto the public while protecting itself from the consequences of its policies.
Referring to a recent tragedy in Hasilpur, PTI alleged that a family, crushed by poverty and unable to pay rent or a Rs17,500 electricity bill, poisoned their two young children before taking their own lives.
It said the children had cried for milk that their parents could not afford to buy and alleged that the government bore direct responsibility for creating conditions that drove citizens to such despair.
PTI also slammed the government’s handling of the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, alleging that authorities were attempting to turn the region into “a replica of occupied Kashmir” by deploying 4,000 Frontier Corps personnel and Rangers while imposing a month-long communications blackout to suppress a peaceful movement.
The party said the demands of the Joint Awami Action Committee for affordable electricity and flour were legitimate.
It warned that any election conducted under such circumstances would amount to “a pre-arranged selection, not democracy”.
PTI demanded the immediate lifting of restrictions, reaffirmed its support for the people of Kashmir and announced that it would not participate in the elections, standing by its decision to boycott the AJK polls.
Third wheat crisis
PTI further alleged that despite claims of a bumper wheat crop, the government had engineered another artificial wheat crisis – the third during its tenure – by creating a shortage exceeding 3.5 million tonnes while planning to import another two million tonnes.
The party claimed that reports indicated 4.5 million tonnes of wheat had disappeared from Punjab government warehouses. It said flour prices had risen to between Rs130 and Rs150 per kilogram, compared with Rs65 to Rs70 during the PTI government, while farmers had been devastated by soaring input costs.
PTI demanded a judicial inquiry into the allegedly missing wheat stocks and a forensic audit of wheat import decisions.
Condemning the recent terrorist attacks in Balochistan, PTI paid tribute to the martyred security personnel but argued that relying solely on military measures had failed over the past five decades.
The party proposed a six-point roadmap comprising intelligence-driven operations, addressing public grievances, dialogue with constitutional nationalists, distinguishing between those who respect the Constitution and those who do not, equitable utilisation of provincial resources for local development, and an inclusive political process involving all stakeholders.
