ISLAMABAD, October 22 (INP-WealthPK): Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that the eventuality of going into a default has been averted by the efforts of the current government. It has taken tough decisions to save the country from economic turmoil at a huge political cost to itself.
He was speaking at the All Pakistan Chartered Accountants Conference where he said that the markets need not get any more nervous. “The worse has been averted and we are back on track. The country will not default and the economic success story will begin,” he said. “All fears of the country defaulting should be quashed. The worst outcome has been avoided. However, the time of complacency has not yet arrived. We need to work very hard to pull the country out of this economic mess. Our government has paid a huge cost for taking over the responsibility of setting things right,” he said.
“Politics is only possible when there is a state. Therefore, state should always be given priority over political interests. If there is no state no politics can be played. We need to understand that state always comes first,” he continued.
He told the gathering that Pakistan will need more than USD 32-34 billion to meet its liabilities and financial needs for the fiscal year 2022-23. “These include around USD 22 billion multilateral-level debt liabilities and around USD 12 billion for current account deficit,” he said.
The minister once again clarified the government’s position about the rescheduling of the Paris Club’s debts. He said soon after assuming the charge of finance ministry, he had announced that the government would not approach the Paris Club for rescheduling of loans and that’s that. He ruled out any possibility of extending bond maturity dates beyond December 2022. Pakistan being a sovereign country will meet its obligations in time for its own credibility and honor.
He said that “despite all the challenges Pakistan will come out on top. Floods, bad economy, and political instability all took their toll on the country’s situation. We need to synchronize our efforts to make sure that Pakistan succeeds in overcoming all the challenges. We have done this before; we will do it again.”
“It was Pakistan Muslim Nawaz which had put Pakistan on the path of growth in its last tenure. It was predicted that Pakistan will become one of the G20 economies. This, however, could not be achieved because of the political situation and bad choices,” he added.
“Political instability did not allow the country to move forward. Political differences between parties and selfish interests of politicians left the country on the brink of collapse. Pakistan could have become the 18th largest economy by 2026 but sadly it could not be achieved. We now stand at 54th position globally which is not admirable,” he continued.
“We need a charter of economy to sort our differences out so that whenever political parties bicker for power economy is not hurt. Whenever political parties fight amongst themselves economy is the casualty. It is only the Charter of Economy that can save the country in the long run,” he suggested.
“Last time when the PMLN got the government it set things right. We had minimal inflation and the exchange rate was also stable around PKR 104. Our reserves had also shored up to USD 26 billion. It all came crashing down when things took a turn for worse after 2015. Had that journey been allowed to continue, the country would have become the member of the Gs20 club and 18th biggest economy,” the minister said.
