ISLAMABAD: Awaam Pakistan Party President and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said the government has no effective economic strategy except increasing taxes and borrowing, while rising public expenditure, corruption, unemployment and political instability have pushed the country into a deep crisis.
Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club Islamabad, Abbasi said Pakistan must move away from political confrontation and revenge-driven politics and proceed on the principles of constitutional supremacy, rule of law, transparent governance and national consensus.
He was accompanied by the party’s Central Vice Presidents Chaudhry Inam Zafar and Fatima Atif, Party Convener Sarfraz Afzal and other party leaders.
The former premier said that during the past four years, the real income and purchasing power of the people had declined significantly, while the per capita tax burden had nearly doubled. He said unemployment had reached its highest level in 21 years, poverty was rising and young people were unable to find jobs in line with their education and skills.
Abbasi said the national debt had increased from around Rs45 trillion to Rs85 trillion, while investment had dropped to its lowest level in decades. He added that soaring prices of electricity, gas, petrol and diesel, coupled with an uncertain tax regime, had badly affected business activity.
Criticising the government’s agricultural policies, he said flawed decisions had devastated farmers, pushed flour prices higher and forced Pakistan to import wheat. He maintained that the government’s economic policies had failed to address the problems being faced by the people.
Abbasi said constitutional supremacy, rule of law, effective reforms, transparent governance and political stability were indispensable for economic recovery. He called for a comprehensive political dialogue among the government, opposition, judiciary, establishment and other national institutions.
He said fresh elections alone would not resolve the country’s problems, adding that national consensus and meaningful reforms were essential to overcome the ongoing crises.
Concluding the press conference, Abbasi said coercion, political victimisation and division would not resolve Pakistan’s challenges. He urged an end to political tensions, demanded that political leaders be allowed to move freely and engage with the public, and called on all political forces to work together in the national interest to steer the country out of its economic and political crises.
