LAHORE , June 15, 2023: Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Thursday requested the institutions and judiciary to force the ruling coalition to announce elections in the country reeling under economic crisis.
In a series of tweets, the former interior minister said the government had put the national economic autonomy at stake and pushed people into extreme poverty. He blamed the government for its political failure, adding: “Now it [government] is trying to lay blame on others”.
He said the government had failed to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fundy (IMF) and it wanted to impose emergency despite the fact that the country needed “election emergency”. He said poverty-bitten people were forced to loot others publicly, adding that delay in elections would not be beneficial for anyone.
Lashing out at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is currently visiting Azerbaijan, he said leaders did not leave the country when there were calamities.
The former minister said fall of economy had occurred as 50 per cent textile factories had stopped functioning, remittances had declined by 11pc and inflation had reached historic level.
He claimed that one million workers had been rendered jobless while 10 million people had fallen below the poverty line. Mr Ahmed said foreign companies were quitting the country. He further said innocent people were being arrested from their houses.