ISLAMABAD: A day after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) issued a fact sheet, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Saturday released a white paper on the performance of 100 days of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government.

The white paper titled ‘100 days 100 lies’ states that the PTI had promised that it would reform the government by vigorously pursuing accountability, by putting in place an effective local government system, depoliticising the police, rationalising access to justice and initiating civil service reforms.

“Except empty rhetoric on accountability and a task force on civil service reform, there was business as usual on governance characterised by favouritism, political pressure on the police, and the usual transfer/posting job. There were many U-turns here, the most glaring of them concerned the prime minister and his cabinet’s performance in the ‘selected accountability’ and the non-performance in the National Assembly and the Senate,” it states.

Says except for rhetoric on accountability and a task force on civil service reform, there has been business as usual on PTI’s governance in 100 days

“The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission was closed down arbitrarily after wasting the nation’s resources of about one billion rupees. Out of the 800-plus Pakistani property owners in Dubai, announced by PTI’s Asset Recovery Unit, one name is known to all — that of Aleema Khan, who is the sister of PM Imran Khan. But she has apparently been allowed to get away from investigation by paying penalty to the FBR showing that PTI campaign against corruption does not involve their own people,” it states.

It stated PM’s Hall of Fame included his friends, financiers and cronies who were appointed in all shades of advisers and special assistants. Among the ‘luminaries’ were Zulfiqar Bukhari, and Awn Chaudhry, who were seen to be selected not on the basis of performance but on nepotism.

“The PM promised to give weekly answers in parliament in PM’s Question Time. However, not only has he not responded to questions, he has hardly made any appearances in parliament. Most oversight work of the government takes place in standing committees, but to date not a single standing committee has been formed. To add insult to injury when the Senate chairman banned Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, he went on a tirade against the Senate chairman and sadly was backed by the PM in this reactionary behaviour,” it states.

The white paper also stated that on one hand the PM’s property in Banigala was being regularised and on the other an operation was going on against encroachments. It also claimed that the roadmap for the local government system was not announced. It alleged that rather than doing police reforms the country had been made a police state.

“For years, the PTI criticised ‘lavish’ protocol by various governments in power and promised that they would follow simplicity when in office. But once in power apart from a few antics, the people witnessed the same traffic blocks, long queues of cars, and long waits on roads of PTI government,” it states.

It also claimed that no development had been made on the creation of southern Punjab province. Attempts were being made to roll back the 18th Amendment. Ten million jobs and five million houses look hollow slogans, it alleged.

Meanwhile, PPP’s Parliamentary Leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman stated that the rupee went into a precipitous free fall on Friday, the biggest in a decade, only to stabilise hours later while the whole country was holding its breath on how the balance of payments crisis would be resolved.

“One day the government says an IMF programme is needed, the next day it issues a sharp rebuke against borrowing from the IMF. This fiscal schizophrenia is disastrous for the economy. The government should have a better response than simply saying there is no need to panic. For the people of Pakistan surviving on paycheck to paycheck, and especially eroding daily wages, there is a reason to be anxious. With the interest rate at 10pc, inflation is expected to reach 12pc,” she said.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2018