Islamabad: The government’s assertions of Balochistan’s growth and progress have drawn criticism from Pakistan’s Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, who called them “fraudulent and illusory,” according to ARY News.

Omar Ayub asked reporters where the money for Balochistan’s development was coming from. He questioned the Petroleum Development Levy’s viability and accused Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of lying, especially about it.

According to ARY News, a leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said that the devaluation of the Pakistani Rupee has made the country’s financial problems worse, especially the PKR 14,450 billion increase in the national debt.

He even questioned the rise in prices and predicted further economic difficulties. He questioned the security situation in Balochistan and criticized the government for obstructing Akhtar Mengal, the president of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M).

According to ARY News, he challenged government representatives to visit Balochistan without security and said that not even the chief minister could consider leaving Quetta without security or protection.

Arguments about the government’s handling of Balochistan’s economic situation and development claims have been sparked by the PTI leader’s comments.

Fearing the impact on businesses in the province, BNP-M President Sardar Akhtar Mengal called off his 20-day sit-in protesting the arrest of Baloch activists in the Lakpass region of Mastung district, Balochistan, on April 16, according to The Express Tribune. Additionally, he said that BNP-M will launch a fresh public outreach initiative.

The lengthy march was started by the BNP-M in protest at police crackdowns during a sit-in and the arrest of Mahrang Baloch, the primary organizer of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), along with other leaders and workers. The government repelled Mengal’s threat that the BNP-M would march in Quetta.

“We believe in a peaceful struggle,” Mengal declared at a press conference in Mastung, calling off the sit-in. Instead of disbanding the movement, we will start a public outreach campaign today, April 16, according to The Express Tribune.

He said that in the next few days, the BNP-M will plan demonstrations and rallies across Balochistan at the district level. “We would hold protest rallies in Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, and Surab in the first phase,” he said. These rallies would take place at Turbat, Gwadar, and Makran during the second phase.

The BNP-M said that residents of the districts of Nasirabad, Jaffarabad, and Dera Murad Jamali, as well as other regions of Balochistan, would be involved in the third phase of the protest campaign. He said, “We are not backing down; we are taking the movement to every corner of Balochistan.”