Amir Khan

The government has called for adopting a “Charter of Economy” to keep the economy on a sustainable growth path and lead the country towards progress. “Politics must be detached from the economy,” Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said at the Second Pakistan Prosperity Forum on “Sustained Economic Growth: Roadmap and Roadblocks,” in Islamabad. The minister said all the political parties should help the government to move the country on path of progress and prosperity. He said Pakistan was going to be part of G20 in a few years.

He said the government needs help from all quarters to bring this target closer. Talking about the debt issue, Dar said it stands at Rs54.5 trillion currently, which is unbearable. He said the debt piled up due to skyrocketing fiscal deficit and a fall in rupee value. He said Rs4 trillion was added to public debt on external side due to rupee depreciation. The minister said the government has self-imposed the debt limitation and fiscal responsibility, and had a fixed debt to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio at 60%. He said the current debt to GDP ratio of the United States was 110%, the United Kingdom 101% and Japan 257%.

He lamented that debt to GDP ratio has been a hot topic in Pakistan, but politicians in US, UK, and Japan never make it an issue. On exchange rate, the minister said that in any system, there are certain speculators and gamblers who take the country’s currency hostage. He said the situation worsens when the state doesn’t come into action. He mentioned that the central banks of England, Bangladesh and India do intervene, so the governments had to make sure that the abusive practices are checked. 

He said Pakistan had constraints on foreign reserves, so it cannot afford these malpractices. Dar said the smuggling of dollars and urea was another serious issue causing loss to the national exchequer. He said the government is taking steps to curb smuggling.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk