Islamabad: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has announced a new wave of countrywide protests against inflation and the worsening economic crisis starting Saturday.
In the first phase, PTI’s members of national and provincial assemblies will lead the protests in their constituencies across the country. “Imran Khan will join the campaign after three weeks of protest,” he said.
PTI released a detailed list of protests in major cities beginning December 31 from Gujranwala city of Punjab province where Khan’s party is in power. The biggest protest rallies have been scheduled on January 1 in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi. In the coming month, protests have also been planned in different cities of Punjab including Sialkot, Attock, Jhelum, DG Khan, Sheikhupura, Gujrat, Sahiwal, and Bahawalpur.
Pakistanis have been grappling with higher costs of living after massive fuel and food price hikes this year. The inflation doubled to 27.3% in August this year from 13.4% in April, hitting a 47-year high in August 2022 on a year-on-year basis, according to government data.
Pakistan has been facing a severe economic crisis amid dwindling forex reserves and currency depreciation. Khan blames the Sharif-led coalition government for the country’s weak economic situation. He has reiterated that the “country needs urgent elections” to ensure political and economic stability and regain investor confidence. Imran Khan’s party has been holding massive rallies to demand snap elections since his ouster in April this year.
This week, PTI leaders said the party would not accept any caretaker government of technocrats formed for an extended period of time as it would further delay elections and will be against the spirit of democracy and the constitution.
