Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar on Wednesday said five per cent economic growth would be achieved in next fiscal year.
Criticising the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly and former finance minister Dr Miftah Ismail in a televised message, he expressed the hope that the economic growth would be 6 per cent in 2023.
Alluding to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leaders, he said those, who were leveling baseless allegations had ruined the national economy during their own tenures in government.
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There was huge current account deficit while the country exports had declined during their governments, which, however, was in surplus after a decade, he added.
Hammad said the government had put the national economy on right track despite various challenges while the economy of neighboring had shrunken by 7.8 per cent.
The minister said the agriculture and services sectors were booming while the country’s exports witnessed sharp increase, besides 9 per cent growth in large-scale manufacturing.
It was a real growth in the economy, he said, adding the government was also taking steps to control inflation.
Made the projection on 7th April earlier this year based on strong economic activity:
'Azhar, who also heads the Ministry of Industries & Production, expressed the confidence that Pakistan's economy would "grow faster than forecast this year".' https://t.co/CWDpntlrUd
— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) May 23, 2021
The minister said the opposition was perturbed owing to the success of the government on economic front. “The government has successfully cleared all mines laid by the last PML-N government to destroy the national economy,” he said.
The opposition was trying to hoodwink the masses through false statements, he concluded.
GDP growth
On the 22nd of May, the National Accounts Committee (NAC) released the estimate of 3.94 percent GDP growth projections for Fiscal Year 2021, higher than the previous estimates given by the World Bank, IMF, and ADB. Even Pakistan’s own SBP did not expect the GDP growth rate to be this high.
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The NAC report was met by claims of biasedness by the opposition and some economists without any proof, but to stop the lamenting criticism, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) also on 24th May released its own data in support of the National Accounts Committee.
On 22nd May, the SBP released a statement saying, “The estimate released (by NAC) was approved unanimously and has the full backing of the SBP.”
Courtesy: APP