ISLAMABAD : Former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt, said on Thursday that investing billions of rupees in conducting controversial elections did not help anyone in the country.
He said more instability and nationwide protests since the polls will cost the government billions of dollars.
He also said that the economy would be destroyed and the country would be chaotic if the voters’ choice wasn’t honored and justice wasn’t done.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said in a statement released today that there is more political instability and doubt now than there was before the election.
After the elections, protests occurred all over the country. If something isn’t done immediately to improve things, the economy will fail, and the government will descend into chaos.
According to the business leader, it is getting clearer when the new government will be formed, and foreign exchange reserves can only cover six weeks of imports. On the other hand, Pakistan has to pay back $45 billion in loans over two years, which is a very tough task.
He said that during the recent election, it was not difficult to guess that internet and mobile services outage was intended to suppress public opinion. Moreover, the 72-hour delay in the election results was another proof of rigging, which has stoked unrest.
He said the elections could not be called transparent from any angle, so most parties and candidates protest against them.
After the PTI and other parties, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), which was considered an ally of PNL-N and PP, rejected the election results and announced launched countrywide protests against the alleged rigging in the February 8 polls.
Controversial elections have attracted attention outside the country. The US, UK, EU, and some other countries have expressed reservations and called for streamlining according to the law.
He said the UN has also discussed the elections and called for justice, which prefers avoiding such controversies, which must be a matter of concern for our policymakers.
