Aurangzeb says politics of protest bleeding a staggering Rs190bn daily

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Aurangzeb claims Pakistan has reached excellent position on economic front

Pakistan suffers a whopping loss of Rs190 billion daily due to the closure of roads and shutdowns triggered by opposition’s protest calls, said Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb

The minister’s comments come as the opposition party is marching towards Islamabad to stage “do-or-die” protest at Islamabad’s D-Chowk on the call of PTI founder Imran Khan.

The opposition party announced staging a protest against the “illegal” incarceration of Khan, other party leaders and workers, “stolen mandate” in February 8 general elections and 26th Constitutional Amendment.

Speaking to local TV, Aurangzeb said that tax collections decrease due to lockdown and protests while exports aby the disruptions in business.

“The protests cause additional expenses on security in a bid to maintain peace,” said the finance minister, adding that the IT and tech sector also suffered losses.

He said that the Ministry of Finance has also prepared a report on the losses incurred due to the protests, according to which, the GDP suffers an estimated loss of Rs144 billion daily.