Federal Minister for Petroleum Dr. Musadik Malik said on Saturday that the government’s economic policies have started showing results under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, resulting in a drop in food inflation from 48 per cent to 2 per cent. Addressing a press conference, he said that overall inflation in the country had also decreased to 12 per cent from 38 per cent due to the government’s measures. He highlighted that inflation in the country is gradually decreasing, and all economic indicators show that the country is moving towards stability. The Minister said alleviating poverty, reducing inflation, and providing job opportunities to the youth are the government’s foremost priorities. Despite economic challenges, the government has allocated Rs 600 billion in the current federal budget to uplift poor people. The minister said that the current government has allocated funds for the construction of dams, roads, and motorways, which will create job opportunities. He said development projects are being executed especially in the backward areas to provide job opportunities to locals. He also noted that Rs 50 billion had been allocated to protect 86 per cent of electricity consumers in the country for the next three months. He said that the government is determined to provide more relief to the masses and improve hospitals, digitize the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and privatize state-owned enterprises. He criticized the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for giving $4 billion to the 100 richest people during its tenure. He said that the government is taking steps to eliminate terrorism, while the opposition speaks against these measures. The government has offered dialogue, whereas the opposition talks about destruction, sit-ins, and confrontational politics. Dr. Malik criticized the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) for their maligning campaign against state institutions and their politics of sit-ins without offering solutions to current problems. He further accused the PTI leader of taking U-turns and misguiding his followers. He recalled that the PTI leader used to claim his government was removed by the US, but is now seeking help from the US. He alleged that the objective of PTI is to destroy the country. He said that military installations and memorials of the country’s heroes were targeted and attacked by PTI workers on May 9. He claimed that the PTI leader had admitted to the incidents of May 9.