Federal finance minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said many nations were sure that Pakistan would default but let me make it clear that Pakistan will not default, reported the 24NewsHD TV channel. 

Speaking to the business community at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), he reiterated Pakistan will escape current difficult economic circumstances. 

The minister confessed that external financing was a huge challenge for Pakistan. 

However, he assured the business community that the government continues to make all-out efforts to escape the difficult economic conditions that have gripped Pakistan.

He appealed to the people to lend a hand to take Pakistan out of the crisis.  

Speaking about the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, he stated that the country completed all technical formalities of the ninth review.

“It is unfortunate that the beginning of this review got delayed by 3 months but we completed all prior actions,” he said.

“After many years, Pakistan recorded a current account surplus in March and April 2023 and gave the global economy a surprise,” he said. 

Finance Minister recalled that  Pakistan had become the 24th economy in the world in 2017. 
"Our economy was growing rapidly," Ishaq Dar added. 

Earlier, the FBR assured the business community of taking up their budgetary proposals with Dar to incorporate them into the federal budget for the next fiscal year.

This assurance was held out by the FBR Member Inland Revenue (Policy), Afaq Ahmed Qureshi.

Qureshi said that these proposals by different chambers were also submitted to the FBR and some of the proposals are very good. “We will take these proposals to the finance minister,” he added.

Pakistan is moving through a rough economic phase given rampant inflation, plant shutdowns, unemployment, stalled IMF program, rupee depreciation, and depleting foreign exchange reserves.

At such a point, the resumption of the IMF program can prove to be a respite for the troubled economy.