PTI rules out CoD-style Charter of Economy

Party leaders Sardar Latif Khosa, Taimur Khan Jhagra, Mobeen Arif Jutt and Rana Atif were speaking at a press conference in Islamabad. Mr Khosa questioned the outcome of the earlier CoD signed by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in 2006, stating that not a single commitment under the accord had been honoured. He claimed that subsequent governments had acted contrary to its spirit by weakening democratic norms and constitutional supremacy, eroding judicial independence, manipulating electoral processes, restricting political freedoms and freedom of expression, shrinking political space, and undermining the overall democratic framework. He further said the PML-N formed the government despite securing only 17 seats, while PTI was denied power despite winning more than 180 seats in the general elections. The PTI leader maintained that party workers and leaders had been subjected to political victimisation, with hundreds of cases registered against Imran Khan, his wife and associates, including Dr Yasmin Rashid, a cancer survivor. He expressed concern that the budget would not only deepen the suffering of the masses but also negatively affect the national economy. He questioned how the government intended to achieve its revenue targets after failing to meet earlier benchmarks, warning that additional taxation would further burden existing taxpayers and potentially push millions of lower- and middle-income families below the poverty line. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Jhagra criticised the government for increasing