TTAP gearing up to protest economic decline: Omar

National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub said on Sunday that the opposition alliance, under the banner of Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ain Pakistan (TTAP), was working on launching a protest movement against the government, citing a lack of rule of law in the country.

Speaking to the media in his constituency in Haripur, Ayub criticized the current government, claiming that nothing positive could be expected from it. He highlighted the worsening economic and law and order situations, saying, "In past two years, the depreciation of the rupee has resulted in a loss of Rs4,000 billion, corruption is on the rise, and no investment has been made, while the revenue shortfall stands at Rs604 billion." Ayub further added, "The economy is deteriorating with each passing day."

According to the senior PTI leader, 20 million people slipped below the poverty line in the past two years. "Additionally, two million people left Pakistan and emigrated abroad because of the wrong policies, along with the flight of capital worth $27 billion," he added.

The opposition leader criticised the government for seeking more loans from the IMF, terming it a careless move in the present circumstances. "This careless imposed government is asking for $1.5 billion from the IMF," he said.

Commenting on the law and order situation, Ayub said that the situation was getting worse in Balochistan, where the writ of the state had vanished in eight districts. "The eight districts of Balochistan have become no-go areas," he claimed.

He condemned the "false cases" lodged against BNP-M leader Siraj Khan Tareen and his associates. He said that people of Balochistan were angry because of the missing persons issue.