Shabbar Zaidi dismisses media reports on Pakistan’s bankruptcy

December 16, 2021 (MLN): Syed Shabbar Zaidi, the former chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday said that his recent speech at Hamdard University is being misreported by the media houses stating that Pakistan is a bankrupt entity.

Taking to his Twitter handle, he stated, “Yes, I said that with this constant current account and fiscal deficit, there are issues of bankruptcy and going concern but look at the solution.”

“What I said was with a basis and conviction. I only want to say that whole speech is to read and listened,” he clarified.

To note, Shabbar Zaidi in his speech said, “My conclusion is that Pakistan as an entity is bankrupt. As we say in accountancy, it’s not going concern in today’s position. We say that everything is good, we brought change but this is wrong, in my view, the country in this moment is bankrupt.”

There is a need to decide that the country is moving towards bankruptcy rather than saying that “we’ll do this or that”, he noted.

During his thirty minutes speech, he talked about the external issues being faced by Pakistan and emphasized the need to revamp the exchange policies.

While criticizing the discount rate set by the State Bank of Pakistan, he said that the central bank should consider the experts/market views regarding the discount rate.

He also underscored the importance of volumetric exports. “To enhance the volume of export, the export sector needs to be price competitive in the international market. This is why, we need to cut down the huge transportation cost within the country during the manufacturing of products”, he added.

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