2.9m Left in Three Years: JI's New Faisalabad Chief Slams Economic Course

Key Points:

The JI district emir calls the departure of 2.9 million Pakistanis in three years a moment of reflection for the government.
Borrowing rose by Rs 13,078 billion in 16 months, he says, citing State Bank figures.
He says 44 per cent of the people live below the poverty line and every Pakistani owes Rs 302,000.
He demands an end to the interest-based economy and VIP culture.

FAISALABAD: The Jamaat-e-Islami’s newly elected district emir has called the departure of 2.9 million Pakistanis abroad in three years a moment of reflection for a government claiming economic progress.

Mian Tahir Ayub said a public deprived of clean drinking water, health and education in a nuclear-armed country rich in petrol, gas, coal and agricultural wealth was being held hostage by a small elite.

According to State Bank figures he cited, government borrowing rose by Rs 13,078 billion in the present government’s first 16 months. He said 44 per cent of the population lived below the poverty line and every Pakistani owed Rs 302,000.

Electricity, gas and petrol prices were raised steeply and taxes piled up under the IMF-dictated programme, which had made life hard for the people, he said. Sugar, flour, pulses and meat were moving beyond the common man’s reach, he added.

Feeding himself and his children had become difficult for a poor man, while the free perks and royal lifestyle of the rulers and bureaucracy showed no sign of ending, he said.

He demanded corruption-free measures to raise the common man’s standard of living. The interest-based economy and VIP culture must end and a system of justice, austerity and simplicity be adopted so that the common man could breathe easily, he said.

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