ISLAMABAD, Nov 19 (INP-WealthPK): The time has come for the people to enjoy the fruits of the prudent policies the government has taken to put the economy on a sustained footing. ‘’The government has balanced the tough decisions with the prudent policies for the economy’s sustainable growth,’’ Muzammil Aslam, Spokesman for Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, tells INP-WealthPK. He says industrial and agriculture sectors are witnessing sustained growth and the government’s coffers are being filled as a result of an uptick in tax revenues. ‘’This will definitely result in the economy showing better results by 2023,’’ he adds. Mr Muzammil expects the economy to grow by 5% despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which has battered the economies around the globe. Mr Muzammil claims Pakistan’s economy outperformed other economies, thus becoming the leading economy in terms of performance even during the pandemic. ‘’Our economy has the same status as was before the Covid-19 pandemic.’’ He also claims Pakistan will attain the status of a food surplus country to ensure price stability and curb inflation. ‘’Our economy has come a long way from the almost-bankrupted,’’ he says. The finance adviser’s spokesman continues that enabling the economy to take off from the slowdown, the government had to take some tough decisions like increasing the interest rates and allowing the rupee to devalue against the US dollar. ‘’The government had also to approach the International Monetary Fund for the loan facility, albeit with tough conditions. During this period, our friends like China and Saudi Arabia continued helping us by providing us with financial support,’’ he explains. Mr Muzammil says Pakistan could not remain unaffected by inflation as it was global issue driven by the coronavirus pandemic. Criticising the media for playing up the inflation issue, he said India had its Wholesale Priced Index remaining in double figures for seven consecutive months. ‘’The pandemic has disrupted the supply chains, thus the rising prices of commodities. However, the inflation is expected to decrease once the supply chain improves, hopefully in a couple of months.’’ Mr Muzammil says protecting vulnerable segments from the effects of inflation was the government’s priority. He stresses that consistency of policy and political stability are the two key factors for sustainable economic development. He says economy’s healthy growth could be measured from the fact that the country’s exports are touching the historical high of $30 billion mark thanks to massive growth in exports of services sector. ‘’Remittances are also going to touch the $32 billion mark this year.’’ The finance adviser’s spokesman hopes the government will be able to strike a deal with IMF on resumption of its suspended loan programme soon.