Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has revealed that the ongoing protests called by the opposition are costing the national economy approximately Rs190 billion each day.

In an interview with a private TV channel, Aurangzeb highlighted that both lockdowns and protests are contributing to a decline in tax revenues, while also disrupting business operations and adversely affecting exports.

He noted that the need for increased security measures to maintain public order during these protests incurs additional costs.

Furthermore, he indicated that losses in the IT and telecommunications sectors are not included in these figures.

According to a report prepared by the Ministry of Finance, the country’s GDP is losing around 144 billion rupees daily, with strikes alone accounting for a loss of 26 billion rupees in exports.

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The Finance Minister also pointed out that direct foreign investment is suffering during these protests, leading to a daily loss of 3 billion rupees, in addition to the separate losses experienced by the provinces.

He specified that the agricultural sector in the provinces faces a daily loss of 26 billion rupees, while the industrial sector is experiencing losses exceeding 20 billion rupees.