KARACHI:
On Sunday, by-elections were held in 11 constituencies — eight National Assembly (NA) seats and three Punjab Assembly seats. Unsurprisingly, the PTI won six NA seats and 2 Punjab Assembly seats. This victory, however, is not particularly significant and will only help the PTI further its narrative of being popular among the public and use this to counter the PDM in television talk shows.
The PTI had already spent a significant amount of money during the 2018 election campaign. According to some reports, the PTI has spent millions of rupees on recent by-elections and rallies. The rally in March cost the federal government nearly Rs149 million. The PDM politicians have also held rallies across the country at regular intervals.
Considering that the country is experiencing deteriorating economic conditions with soaring inflation along with the flood catastrophe, the heavy expenditure on political rallies reflects the politicians’ disregard for the masses. The only purpose of these rallies is to further their political agendas, publicly vilify each other, and ultimately seek their own interests. Both the government and opposition have shown little regard for the public’s problems. They must put their interests aside and prioritise the country. Instead of wasting funds on fruitless rallies, the money should be spent on development and supporting the flood victims.
Daman Ali
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2022.
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