Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan questioned the federal government’s economic performance, asking why key reforms had not been implemented over the past four years.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament House, Gohar said meeting the country’s defence requirements was the government’s constitutional responsibility, but it had failed to introduce meaningful reforms in the tax system through the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
He said the depreciation of the rupee and economic mismanagement reflected the government’s shortcomings. According to him, the federal administration had also failed to fulfil its commitments regarding pension reforms, expenditure controls and broader economic restructuring.
The PTI chairman maintained that effective reforms had not been carried out in the retail, real estate and agriculture sectors despite repeated promises.
Commenting on fiscal relations between the federation and provinces, Gohar said shifting additional financial burdens onto provinces amounted to an admission of federal failure. He argued that reducing the provincial share after the 18th Constitutional Amendment was not legally possible and any reduction under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award would be unconstitutional.
He added that the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was duty-bound to safeguard the province’s resources and interests, stressing that public concerns over the lack of economic reforms continued to grow.