PTI govt has made lives a living hell: Bilawal

PPP chairman says Pakistan has been mortgaged to the IMF

PESHAWER: Continuing his diatribe against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said three budgets have been introduced in a single year wherein prices of everything have skyrocketed making it “expensive to live and cheap to die” for the common man.

“The PTI government has made the lives of common people a living hell,” said the PPP chairman while addressing a public gathering in Munda, Lower Dir on Monday.

“Before coming to power Imran Khan had a different face and today he has a different one. Where are his claims?” said Bilawal, adding that Imran had said that he would kill himself before going to the International Monetary Fund, but today the country had been mortgaged to the global lender.

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Bilawal said the budget of change of PTI carried relief only for the rich.

“There is amnesty for the rich and a tsunami of taxes for the poor. A poor, who saved Rs500,000 working his whole life, even he will have to submit his account details. There is a tsunami of high prices,” said Bilawal. “It is the very first year of his government and people are praying for an end to it. Even those who selected him are worried as to who they have handed over the country to.”

He said provinces were becoming bankrupt due to the incompetency of the federation.

“Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are not getting their due shares. K-P is getting Rs40 billion less. This move could have helped in completing many projects. Money is the right of the provinces, not the puppet in Islamabad.”

He alleged that the government collected the lowest tax in the history of the country. “The PTI government wants to loot the people to hide their incompetency. They want to end the 1973 Constitution and the 18th Amendment to take the rights away from the provinces,” said the PPP chairman, adding that the PPP would not compromise come what may “even if every one of us is sent to jail”.

He said the PPP government provided resources to the provinces through the 18th Amendment. “The PPP government gave this province its own name in place of NWFP - a name given by the British government - and introduced Benazir Income Support programme which supports the poor,” he added.

Bilawal said PPP supporters had always faced military dictators in the past and they would again face the selected puppet rulers and restore old Pakistan where people would be able to lead their lives with dignity.

He urged institutions to work within their limits, saying it was the only way they did not earn a bad name for themselves.

Bilawal said he addressed five rallies after the budget and all of them were successful.

Provincial PPP President Eng Humayun Khan said, “People of Dir love the Bhutto family and they are ready to sacrifice their lives.”

He said Bilawal wanted to address rallies in tribal districts but Imran Khan’s government did not give permission.