Claims of economic development questioned

Karachi Traders Alliance on Tuesday questioned claims of the government regarding economic development terming it eyewash.

Production, exports, exchange rate and production continue to fall while the country is progressing in slogans, crimes, uncertainty and acquiring loans, said Ayaz Memon Motiwala, Chairman of Karachi Traders Alliance.

He said that reports of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) regarding economy are not based on facts but a deception which is against professional ethics.

Talking to Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW), he said that trade deficit for the current fiscal will swell to 33 billion dollars while foreign exchange reserves are down by three billion dollars.

Motiwala said that reasons behind record trade deficit include falling exports, increased imports, want of enabling laws and energy crisis.

He said that oil prices remained subdued during the last few years which helped many countries to stabilise their economy but Pakistan could not get the benefit of it while masses were also not given the advantage.

Running country on the basis of foreign and local loans is not a sustainable solution while acquiring loans to repay loans is a disastrous policy.

At the occasion, Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that export package worth Rs 180 billion announced last year is yet to be implemented.

The praise by International Monetary Fund (IMF), SBP and other institutions is nothing but a joke, he said, adding that policy of blocking refunds and avoiding hard decision due to the election year is devastating for the economy.