Finance Minister Ishaq Dar Saturday maintained that no more experiments can be done with the country’s economy as the country went through its "darkest economic periods" during the previous government’s tenure.
The minister, addressing a ceremony by the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association in the federal capital, said that the economy is going in the right direction and the country would not default.
APTMA’s senior leader Gohar Ejaz organised a luncheon in honour of the Finance Minister in which a large number of political and business personalities participated.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Member Provincial Assembly Khawaja Salman Rafique, Member National Assembly Ali Pervez Malik, prominent legislator Salman Akram Raja, entrepreneurs Siddique Javed Bhatti, Mian Umar Ahsan, Fawad Mukhtar Fatima Fertilizer, Mian Talat Orient Group, Kamran Ghazi, SM Tanveer, Aamir Azam, Naveed Yusuf, Ahmed Kamal, Mian Amir Mahmood, Sultan Gohar, Naeem Butt, Mian Ahsan, Amir Abdullah and Abdul Rahim were among the participants.
“The opposition is blocking avenues of investment by telling fake corruption stories. Pakistan won’t default just because the opposition has said so,” the finance minister said rejecting rumours of default.
“The opposition, who has cried hoarse about the country defaulting, has damaged Pakistan’s credibility and its ability to get out of the crisis,” he said, noting that the opposition’s claims have harmed the country.
Earlier this month, the minister slammed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan for prioritising politics over the state.
Referring to Khan’s statements about default, Dar said that he should think that he was not serving the country by giving such remarks as it sends a "bad impression" to the international community.
The finance czar said that Pakistan’s economy is at the 46th position and that the country could have been a part of G20 nations given the pace at which it was going in the past.
Ishaq Dar claimed that he created fiscal discipline that led him to spend five years in exile.
He added that the world kept talking about Pakistan defaulting even in 2013.
“We worked hard and delivered the budget in five days saving the country from defaulting in the process. We completed our program from 2013 to 2016, which only happened once in the country’s history,” the minister said recalling the decisions taken by his party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) during its previous tenure.
Commenting on the increase in dollar rates, the finance minister — who earlier claimed that the local unit was actually at 200 against the greenback — said that the rupee was devalued without thinking through during the PTI government.
For a better economy, Dar said that there is a need to improve economic indicators in the country and halt the smuggling of wheat from the country on a war footing.
Ishaq Dar also claimed that they initiated a program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2013 and completed it by 2016.
“The national economy was at a crucial moment where it could not afford any further shocks or experiments,” he added.
He pointed out that the country’s stakeholders would have to work hard and focus on improving Pakistan’s macroeconomic indicators. “In Pakistan, the rich get their loans written off, but if loans of a few thousands of poor widows are late, their properties are seized,” he regretted.
The federal minister added that there was an urgent need to stop the smuggling of wheat and other essentials from the country.
Addressing the ceremony, Gohar Ejaz said Mr Dar had earlier rescued the country from the financial problems it was facing.
“We are what we are because of this country. There are fears that Pakistan will default. I have full faith in Allah that Pakistan will never default.”
He said requested the finance minister to lower the interest rate citing the example of Turkiey saying despite inflation, Turkey has also kept interest rates low.
“We have to provide facilities to the exporters and tax collection should be improved. Withholding tax of 8% has been imposed on transfers, which must be reduced. Mortgage finance should also be opened. All entrepreneurs believe that we live and die in this country.”