The former caretaker federal minister for commerce and a prominent name in Pakistan’s textile industry, Gohar Ijaz, has urged the government to take radical measures to make national economy as competitive, reported 24NewsHDTV Channel.
Talking to his social media account on X (Twitter), textile sector icon Gohar Ijaz said the world is competing for global business and competitiveness therefore Pakistan need to make its economy more competitive and ignite growth to provide jobs and promote industrialisation.
The former commerce minister further contended said Pakistan kept real interest rates high last whole year from 1.7pc to 10pc to stabilise economy. He added that now keeping real interest rates at 7.8pc% (Policy Rate 11 - Inflation 3.2 = Real Interest Rates 7.8) is unrealistic.
Gohar Ijaz said that the Government will be the biggest beneficiary with 51 trillion domestic debt if interest rates are brought to 6 percent, still keeping real interest at 2.5pc.
He said that after reducing key rates, Pakistan will save Rs 3 trillion in debt servicing cost for the year, adding that this Amount is more than the Defence Budget of Pakistan for the year.
The former commerce minister said Pakistan’s inflation for June 2025 was recorded at 3.2%, down from 3.46% in the previous month. In comparison, inflation in June 2024 stood at 12.6%. Average inflation during FY25 was 4.49%, a significant drop from 23.41% in FY24.
He questioned why is the policy rate still at 11pc when June 2025 inflation is 3.2pc and full-year FY25 inflation is just 4.49pc.