Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal has said that there was no truth in the rumours that Pakistan is going to default. He said that Pakistan needs policies which promote industrialization and create a base for exports’ growth. He made these remarks while chairing a meeting on Conducive Business Environment at the Planning Commission.

He said that all political parties need to prioritize national interest instead of political interest, adding that Pakistan will surely come out of its economic crises. He said that talking about Pakistan’s default was hurting the country and all such rumour-mongering should stop.

He said that the country needs to create a business-friendly environment where long-term policies for trade and growth are made. Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan needs to increase its exports to USD 100 billion in the next five years. He said that Pakistan needs to capture the market of China which could serve as a potential export destination, adding that Pakistan exports goods worth only USD 3 billion to the Chinese markets whereas the total exports of China stood at USD 2250 billion.

He said that all chambers of commerce in the country need to work towards the increase of exports and extended the full support of the Planning Ministry in this regard. He said that the recent floods wreaked havoc across the country, costing the national exchequer more than USD 15 billion, adding that the government had undertaken a comprehensive humanitarian assistance program.

Further, the minister reviewed the second quarter of Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) 2022-23, and noticed the utilization of only 56% of the authorized funds. He said that, “projects which are in advanced stages and have low utilization should be capped and priority should be given to the important projects which are near their completion. We need to take the factors of budget constraint, and strategic importance into account while making the release strategy.”

The minister further said that development budget had decreased from PKR 1000 billion to PKR 727 billion during the last four years.  He said that the current government had already released PKR 224.5 billion in five months (July-November) out of a total allocation of PKR 727 billion under PSDP, 2022-23. He added, “ministries and divisions, however, have spent only PKR 130 billion out of the authorized amount of PKR 224 billion during the period under review.”

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk