Pakistan: Exhausted PTI workers left in the lurch

Moving of Imran Khan to his Banni Gala residence caused great disappointment among the PTI workers and it seemed that they were left in lurch to face the torrential rain under open sky in the capital.It also seems that Imran could not honour the repeated promises he made to his workers and supporters that he would eat and live with them all through Azadi March. The helpless workers, who braced all traveling odds to reach Islamabad were simply shocked as they have never thought that their leader would desert them at the very outset of the Azadi March and leave them to face ordeals all alone. Imran had made promises repeatedly with his party workers that he would eat the same which they would, he would also be sleeping on the roads with them and would never leave them alone under any circumstances. In his comments on the development, leader of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Mushahidullah Khan criticised Imran for leaving the march and going at his Bani Gala residence after the speech.Meanwhile, current the marches by the PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) has resulted in a lot of hardships for the residents of the capital as well as halting of the transportation of goods for imports and exports and might cause loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer. Economic experts said the real impact would start appearing on economic horizon of the country if the political tension persists for the next one week. The disruption of economic activities of eight to 10 days might cause loss of Rs 70 to Rs 80 billion to the national exchequer, only on account of revenue collection. The export contracts might start witnessing cancellation in days ahead if this crisis prolongs.They said that in the wake of the rising political temperatures, the crash of the stock market has resulted in loss of Rs 300 billion in a single day ahead of this ongoing march from PTI and PAT. Now the prices of the essential items have started escalating in different parts of the country because of the disruption in supplies. The prices of vegetables and fruits also increased in different cities of the country because of the disruption in supply. When contacted, renowned economist Ashfaque Khan said that sooner the matter is resolved, the better it would be for the economy of the country.