Pakistan Economic Crisis: Pakistan is the only country founded in the name of Islam and Allah is responsible for its development and prosperity, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday, as the cash-strapped country faced a serious payment crunch.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Green Line Express train service, the senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said he had full faith that Pakistan would progress as it was built in the name of Islam.
Dar said, “If Allah can create Pakistan, He can also protect, develop and prosper it.”
“They are trying their best to improve the condition of Pakistan under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” the finance minister said.
Dar reiterated that the present government had inherited many problems from the previous Imran Khan-led government, adding that the government was working day and night.
“The team is trying to rectify the situation ahead of the elections.”
He said the country is still suffering because of the ‘drama’ that started five years ago and asserted that the economy was strong during the tenure of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from 2013-2017.
The Finance Minister claimed that the Pakistan Stock Exchange was the best performing capital market in South Asia and fifth in the world during the Nawaz Sharif era and was being eyed by world institutions.
Dar said Pakistan is now paying the price in the last five years for the “Panama drama”, the ouster of the PML-N government and similar issues.
He said, “Pakistan was on the path of development during Nawaz’s tenure, but it got derailed.”
Dar said, “People can see the devastation caused to the country in the last five years, and they know who has worked in the past.”
Facing an acute balance of payments crisis, Pakistan is desperate to secure much-needed external financing, with its foreign exchange reserves falling from USD 923 million to USD 3.68 billion, with less than three weeks’ worth of import cover. USD is done.
Pakistan received an IMF bailout of USD 6 billion in 2019. topped with USD 1.1 billion in 2022 to help the country after the unprecedented floods.
But the IMF suspended disbursements in November due to Pakistan’s failure to make much progress on fiscal consolidation amid political turmoil in the country.
Meanwhile, the Washington-based global lender announced on Thursday that it is sending a staff mission to Islamabad this month to discuss restarting the bailout programme.
The greenback hit a record high of Rs 268.30 at the interbank market, despite repeated claims by the finance minister who replaced Miftah Ismail to bring the dollar rate below Rs 200.
The Pakistani rupee depreciated on Friday with the local currency depreciating by over Rs 12 against the US dollar at the interbank market as the government eased its controls on the currency to release pending loan tranches to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). ,
The local unit was trading at Rs 268.30 as against Thursday’s closing price of Rs 255.43 at the interbank market.
A day earlier, the rupee had depreciated 24.11 to Rs 255.43 per dollar in the interbank market. The 9.6 per cent fall is the second biggest in a single session.
read also , Amid blackouts and severe foreign exchange shortage, Pakistan’s economy is at risk of collapse