No cut in finance bill of CPEC: Khusro Bakhtiar

ISLAMABAD, Sep 16: Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Khusro Bakhtiar Sunday rejected the statement of PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal regarding cut in finance bill of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Talking to a news channel, he said CPEC was a long term plan having great potential for economic growth of Pakistan. He said the geographical location of Pakistan and connectivity with other countries were its real strength.

Khusro said the government wanted investment of other countries in CPEC including Germany, Japan and Korea. He said prime focus of the government was to revamp economy, create employment opportunities, and boost manufacturing base in Pakistan.

He said the previous government of PML-N did not pay attention to CPEC projects properly and ignored ML-1, the main project of CPEC. The minister was of the view that Pakistan should be made a exports oriented country to achieve the economic targets.

He said Pakistan was facing different challenges including circular debt, fiscal deficit, current accounts and trade imbalance.

(APP)