ISLAMABAD: Omar Ayub, the opposition leader in the National Assembly, strongly criticized the ruling PML-N on Tuesday, labeling the federal budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 as “economic terrorism” against Pakistanis.
Speaking to the media with his PTI colleague Babar Awan, Ayub highlighted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s acknowledgment of the IMF’s involvement in the budget’s formulation. He voiced concerns over the imminent rise in electricity rates to more than Rs100 per unit and predicted that the US dollar, currently pegged at about Rs275, would soar to Rs300.
Ayub also addressed the legal challenges facing PTI leadership, dismissing the cases as politically motivated efforts to incarcerate key figures like former Prime Minister Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi, and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, among others. He expressed confidence in a swift resolution to these cases.
Drawing on George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, Ayub criticized the detachment of the current government from the hardships of ordinary Pakistanis. Echoing Ayub’s sentiments, Babar Awan denounced those who filed cases against the PTI leaders as dishonest, accusing them of falsely portraying stability under the current coalition.
Awan maintained that genuine stability in Pakistan could only be achieved through Imran Khan, suggesting that any hindrance to Khan’s leadership was akin to destabilizing the country. He also referenced a United Nations call for open trials in Khan’s cases, emphasizing the fear his public presence instills in his political adversaries.
