Senior leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Thursday criticised the government's economic policies, expressed concern over the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and termed the upcoming federal budget an International Monetary Fund (IMF)-driven document that would increase the burden on the public.
Addressing a press conference, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said recent developments in Azad Kashmir were deeply troubling and unprecedented in Pakistan's history.
"I am deeply saddened by what is happening in Azad Kashmir," he said, adding that freedom of expression was increasingly coming under pressure.
Raja said political freedom, the rule of law and economic development were closely linked, arguing that investment could not flourish in an environment lacking legal certainty and democratic freedoms.
"Politics and the economy go together. Where there is no law, no one invests," he said.
He also reiterated PTI's demand for the release of the party founder, saying that people across the country were closely following developments regarding him.
Former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser said the federal budget being presented by the government was effectively an IMF-backed document and warned that it would lead to higher inflation and additional taxation.
"This budget will increase inflation and impose more taxes on the people," he said.
Qaiser claimed that prolonged electricity load-shedding and economic difficulties were affecting people across the country, particularly farmers and low-income households.
He also called on the state to review its policies regarding Kashmir and urged authorities to allow citizens to make their own political choices within the framework of the Constitution.
He alleged that democratic institutions had been weakened and claimed that a large number of multinational companies had left Pakistan in recent years.
Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra criticised the government's economic performance and said the administration should be held accountable after presenting multiple federal budgets.
Referring to the recently released National Economic Survey, Jhagra said economic indicators reflected widespread hardship across different sectors of society.
He argued that growth remained below expectations and claimed that people from all economic classes, including workers, businesses and industrialists, were facing difficulties.
PTI lawmaker Rana Atif also criticised the government's economic management, claiming that economic growth had slowed while poverty had increased.
He said the construction sector had stagnated and questioned the persistence of electricity shortages despite the country's installed power generation capacity.