Bilawal Bhutto says PM must go home

Islamabad: Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has expressed deep concern over the unprecedented rise in unemployment, as almost half of the country’s working-class have either lost their salaries or their jobs during the 32 months.

In a statement, the PPP Chairman said that Imran Khan had claimed that 2020 would be ‘the year of jobs’,  but his government has only overseen mass unemployment. PTI’s manifesto  had promised to create 10 million jobs,  but the youth are wandering the corners of Pakistan, degrees in hand, and the government has failed in creating employment, he added.

Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also said that no government in Pakistan’s history had such anti-employment policies as the current one. The minimum unemployment ratio during PPP government was 0.42 per cent, while under the PML-N it reached 4.08 per cent and under the PTI governments 32 month stint in power it had already increased to 4.45 per cent. The People’s government had created employment for more than 6 million youths across the country and in return, the PPP leadership faced false and fabricated cases of corruption, he added.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari pointed out that Bangladesh, Vietnam, Ghana and even Myanmar were out-performing Pakistan in terms of the employment ratio. Instead of creating 10 million jobs, Imran Khan had instead  fired thousands of employees from Radio Pakistan, PIA, Steel Mills and the Sports Board, he said.

PPP Chairman further said that Imran Khan had even been heartless enough to lay off workers during the lockdown caused by the coronavirus.

He said that Government employees continued to protest for their rights in Islamabad and that instead of listening to their legitimate concerns, Imran Khan’s political police thrashed and threw them behind bars. He added that, Government employees in Balochistan were fired the crime of speaking up for their rights and that this was a unforgivable. He pointed out that on the other hand the Sindh Government had not only increased the salaries of government employees but they were given added incentives during lockdown.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also reminded the federal government of the announcements made after its formation in 2018. It had promised to spend Rs 18 billion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the aim of creating 98,000 jobs but that promise has not been fulfilled. Other PTI pledges to provide 300,000 jobs with the establishment of Economic Zones in Punjab and 16,000 with the construction of Diamer Bhasha Dam have not been fulfilled till date. Likewise, promises of creating 65,000 jobs under the Green Negehban project and 100,000 under the ML-1 project also haven’t seen the light of day. The Punjab Employment Scheme was also launched at a cost of Rs9.5 billion but the youth of Lahore and Multan are still walking around with degrees in their hands with no job in sight, he added.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that shuffling ministries and changing ministers will not solve the problems of the country and the only way out to safeguard the nation and its people was for Imran Khan to go home.