Opposition sees two years of ‘disaster’

PML-N, PPP refute cabinet members’ claims, highlight ‘failures’

The opposition parties on Tuesday described the two-year performance of the PTI-led federal government as an “unmitigated disaster” in response to members of the cabinet addressing a joint news conference to highlight its achievements.

PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari both took to Twitter to claim that the federal’s government policies had created an unprecedented level of hardships for the people.

In a series of tweets, Shehbaz maintained that from foreign policy to economy to governance, Prime Minister Imran Khan's “mismanagement of national affairs has increased the woes of the masses manifold”.

He added that people were continuing to pay a heavy price for “this failed experiment in political engineering”.

2 years of PTI government have been an unmitigated disaster. From foreign policy to economy to governance, IK’s mismanagement of national affairs has increased the woes of the masses manifold. People continue to pay heavy price for this failed experiment in political engineering.

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) August 18, 2020

He noted that the GDP growth rate had registered a massive decline from positive 5.8% in 2018 to negative 0.45pc in 2020, rendering “millions of people jobless and pushing many more below the poverty line.

“The prices of sugar, wheat and medicines almost doubled. Per capita income went down steeply.”

The former Punjab chief minister said exports and tax collection had stagnated over the last two years. “The government has yet to surpass the tax and export targets achieved by the PML-N during its tenure,” he claimed.

“The PTI has taken more loans in just two years than [those] taken by PML-N during its full tenure.” Shehbaz claimed that “reforms” in the FBR were “still a shallow claim”.

The PML-N president also hit out at the federal government for its "failure in critical areas of foreign policy", referring to the Modi government revoking the special status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, work on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor slowing down for a year and ties with key ally Saudi Arabia becoming subjected to controversy.

Later, Bilawal tweeted that the current government’s two years in power and Imran Khan had “given us the worst economy in our country’s history.

2 years in power & @ImranKhanPTI has given us the worst economy in our country’s history, foreign policy failures from Kashmir to Saudi, democracy & human rights suffering , unemployment at an all time high, transparency international has said corruPTIon is higher than before.

— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) August 18, 2020

He pointed out foreign policy failures “from Kashmir to Saudi Arabia” and claimed that democracy and human rights were suffering. He also maintained that unemployment was at an all-time high. The scion of the Bhutto dynasty cited the Transparency International report according to which corruption was higher than before.

Addressing a news conference, PML-N leader and spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb claimed that the PTI ministers and special assistants to the PM were "lying" about the government’s performance.

She said the economic woes and the rise in unemployment, inflation, and poverty caused by the government’s policies in its two years so far was unprecedented.

Talking to reporters, PPP Information Secretary Nafisa Shah lashed out at the PTI government for dropping an “inflation bomb" on the people. She pointed out that wheat prices had increased by 102%, sugar by 70-80% and fuel by 40%.

She also criticised the government’s policies pertaining to the IMF programme and the PIA.