Pakistan protests could cost economy Rs120b a day, finance minister warns

Dubai: Protests and sit-ins could cost Pakistan around Rs120 billion every day, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb warned on Sunday, describing fresh political disruption as “self-inflicted pain” at a time when the economy is already under pressure from the Middle East conflict.

The warning, according to Dawn and Geo News, comes as opposition parties prepare protests and marches towards Islamabad, including a nationwide demonstration called by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for September 27.

Aurangzeb said the government and the economic wing of the Planning Commission had assessed the impact of previous protests and sit-ins before arriving at the Rs120 billion daily estimate.

The services sector would bear the biggest impact, with estimated losses of Rs86 billion a day, according to the minister. That includes financial services, communications, retail, transportation, wholesale and hospitality.

Industry could lose another Rs25 billion, including through disruption to construction, finished goods, raw materials and supply chains, while agriculture could suffer losses of around Rs9 billion.

The minister also estimated an additional Rs17 billion loss in government revenue if the proposed protests went ahead.

Middle East pressures

Aurangzeb said the potential disruption came at a particularly difficult time for Pakistan, with the Middle East conflict already driving up freight and insurance costs and disrupting supply chains.

He warned that protests would add another domestic shock to those external pressures.

The finance minister also highlighted the potential impact on Pakistan’s technology sector, saying IT exports totalled $811 million in July and August, or about $13 million a day.

Previous episodes of civil disobedience and connectivity problems had affected IT exports by as much as 80 per cent, he said.

Aurangzeb said the ultimate cost would be borne by ordinary Pakistanis, including labourers, daily-wage workers and small traders.

He urged political differences to be resolved through dialogue, arguing that Pakistan had achieved macroeconomic stability after difficult decisions and was now trying to move towards growth.

His warning came as Jamaat-i-Islami launched a march towards Islamabad on Sunday demanding an end to the petroleum levy.

PTI, meanwhile, has called for a nationwide protest on September 27, including a march towards Islamabad, demanding the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and what it describes as the supremacy of the Constitution.

Authorities have been preparing for the planned PTI march, with hundreds of containers placed at entry points to the capital and additional security arrangements being made.

Imran’s sister detained

Meanwhile, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan was detained by authorities on Sunday after Lahore’s deputy commissioner ordered her detention or arrest for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance.

The order cited police reports alleging that Aleema and another individual posed a potential threat to public order and were mobilising workers ahead of planned protests.

PTI condemned her detention and said its September 27 protest would be peaceful.

The government has vowed to prevent protesters from disrupting Islamabad, while a recent Islamabad High Court ruling said political parties and their leaders had no lawful right to occupy public roads, highways, interchanges, toll plazas or buildings in the capital.