PTI slams govt for ‘anti

Wire excerpt

ISLAMABAD: The PTI on Saturday slammed the government for its “anti-farmer” and “anti-poor” policies, accusing the ruling coalition of weakening the economy and burdening the underprivileged with over-taxation. At a press conference, PTI MNAs Usama Mela, Khawaja Sheraz Mehmood, Mubeen Arif Jutt, and Shandana Gulzar presented a grim picture of the nation’s agriculture, economy, and law and order, exposing the “disconnect” between the government’s statistics and the ground realities. They claimed the rulers were directly responsible for the worsening economic situation, as they continued to increase their own lavish expenditures while ordinary citizens bore the burden of economic hardship. MNA Usama claimed that the agriculture sector was facing a “total collapse” under the PML-N government. He noted that cotton cultivation declined significantly, and that the agriculture sector failed to achieve even 0.6pc growth against a target of 6pc. “Due to crippling taxation policies, the total cultivable area for cotton has been drastically reduced from 2.4 million to just 5.5 lakh acres,” he claimed. Lawmakers accuse rulers of enjoying luxuries at taxpayers’ expense Shandana Gulzar spoke …