ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Saturday rejected criticism of opposition parties over recent increase in the prices of petroleum products, claiming that they were responsible for bringing the country’s economy to its current state.

Read: Opposition slams government on petrol price hike

Addressing a press conference here, she said players of “corruption eleven” were trying to play with sentiments of the public.

The spokesperson for the government said that it was strange that the opposition parties were shedding “crocodile’s tears” over increase in the prices of petroleum products. “The government has paid more than Rs60 billion in subsidies over petroleum products since August,” Dr Awan said, adding that the petroleum prices in Pakistan were lower as compared to those in regional countries.

She termed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) a “corrupt league” and said the party leaders were misguiding the people of the country. If they were so kind-hearted to people, they would have not done so badly with the economy of the country when the party was in power. Had they worked honestly, the country’s economy would not have been in such a bad shape today, she added.

Special Assistant to PM holds PML-N, PPP responsible for country’s financial ills

Calling both main opposition parties, the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), “kings of corruption”, Dr Awan alleged that they were responsible for the financial crunch the country was facing today. They (PML-N and PPP leaders) had snatched rights of millions of children of the country for the benefits their own children, she added.

Calling PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif a “missing opposition leader”, she said he was trying to befool people by expressing his sympathies with them over the hike in oil prices at a time when he was enjoying luxuries of life in London.

Dr Awan said it was strange that the PML-N which, according to her, was responsible for many of Pakistan’s economic ills today was now doing politics on this issue. The opposition parties were doing the politics of hypocrisy by provoking people on economic issues, she said, adding that the only agenda of the opposition parties’ leaders was to protect their wealth.

“Those who looted the nation are now united only to find a way to escape the ongoing accountability process in the country,” she said.

She claimed that many of those who were now expressing concern over the state of the country’s economy were behind hundreds of fake bank accounts. Had they not looted people’s money during their tenures, the country’s economy would have been in a stable position today, she added.

Meanwhile, in messages on Twitter Dr Awan lambasted PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. She claimed that he was doing politics over the blood of martyrs.

“Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had double standards and he was doing politics on the blood of martyrs,” she said in a tweet.

“Mr Bilawal had rejected that Mohsin Dawar attacked Kharqamar check post but now he condemned the terror attack in Boya, North Waziristan,” she said, adding, “For Bilawal’s party Rao Anwar was a brave person while on the other hand it was insisting on issuance of production orders of Mohsin Dawar.”

“Today Bilawal was condemning the unknown persons who martyred a soldier in Boya.” she said.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2019