The finance minister stated at an Islamabad press conference discussing Pakistan’s economic future, “I really think that the rupee’s true value is far more, even though I never like to invest on the stock market.
In light of the rupee’s recent ongoing fall against the US dollar, finance minister Miftah Ismail stated on Sunday that the value of the currency is “much more” than what it is at the moment.
The Pakistani rupee had its worst month in July since 1972 due to a lack of dollars and worries over a holdup in an IMF bailout programme.
Miftah once more anticipated that the PKR should experience some improvement “in the two weeks” after asserting last week that the pressure on the currency will soon dissipate.
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| Miftah Ismail press conference over current account deficit |
Ismail stated that during the course of the following month, efforts will be made to enhance daily inflows of cash while reducing outflows, there will be an excess (of dollars) in our country and thanks to our efforts to cut imports and the daily rise in entering dollars against a reduction in outgoing units, he said.
This will result in less pressur and cause a modest decline in the dollar’s value relative to the rupee, the minister continued.
Although he feels that “the fundamentals are in Pakistan’s favour,” he issued a warning, noting that “wishful thinking and attitudes also play a role in this.”
Those who criticised the previous administration said that the PTI-led administration raised the nation’s debt by Rs20,000 billion over the previous three and a half years.
Pakistan’s default must be saved as the primary priority.
When asked what the administration intended to do to stop the inflation from growing, the finance minister responded as follows: “Every finance minister has the goal of reducing inflation while concentrating on growth. Never have growth or the ability to control inflation been my top priorities. My sole focus has been on keeping Pakistan from defaulting.”
He used Sri Lanka, which previously declared bankruptcy, to illustrate how dreadful a condition the nation could have slipped into before being “rescued.”
The minister stated that hospitals closed owing to medicine shortages. Women would wait in line for several days to buy gas to power their cookers.
Ban On Imports
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), according to the finance minister, has advised lifting the import quota. Several things will no longer be prohibited if they have the prime minister’s approval and the cabinet’s approval. But imports of vehicles, phones, and home goods will still be prohibited.
Within a year, the current account will be in excess.
The government wants to turn the current account deficit into a surplus, according to Ismail. We will increase exports over the next two to three months, he promised. “We will shortly reduce imports.”
PTI put the nation at danger of default.
Ismail criticised the previous administration, claiming that the PTI-led administration raised the nation’s debt by Rs20,000 billion, or 79%, over the previous three years and 9 months.
He claimed that the current administration did “nothing that would push the nation dangerously close to default.” Imran Khan and PTI were responsible for the nation’s current predicament, he claimed.
According to the finance minister, the country’s debt was $24,952.9 at the time the PML-N government left office. When we returned right now, it had increased to about $45,000.
He added that “the practices of Shaukat Tareen and Imran Khan have a significant hand” in the country’s fiscal deficit and blamed the PTI party for it. The previous administration, he continued, was responsible for the “four largest budget deficits” in the nation.
They were unable to equal the PML-N-tax-to-GDP ratio in any given year, he continued.
Ismail stated that debt will inevitably grow if tax revenues are consistently reduced while the budget deficit rises. He added that Pakistan will have to pay $4,000 billion in interest payments this year alone.
Because of said reasons, the finance minister admitted that a “very challenging” budget was approved.
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