ISLAMABAD: According to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, economic independence is a necessary component of true freedom and cannot be attained without it.
In spite of blaming his predecessor Shaukat Tarin of “not disclosing facts,” Mr. Ismail stated during a news conference that the PTI government has taken out 79% of the nation’s total external debt.
According to him, Pakistan’s imports increased to a record $80 billion during the PTI’s rule, while the trade imbalance in FY22 reached an unheard-of $48 billion.
In response to Mr. Tarin’s press conference earlier in the day at the Karachi Press Club, Mr. Miftah questioned how PTI could discuss true independence without establishing economic self-sufficiency.
Mr. Tarin had already suggested that the coalition government, which is governed by the PMLN, contact Russia for oil because it is “available at a discount of 30–40%.”
According to Mr. Ismail, the 13-party administration prevented the country from becoming bankrupt when the earlier PTI government was pushing the nation toward default.
He said that “we have spared the country from a catastrophe akin to Sri Lanka, where gasoline and gas are blacking out.”
He claimed that the PTI entered into arrangements with the IMF to raise the price of oil and power, the effects of which persisted even while our administration was in office. During its tenure, the PTI administration raised Rs19,000bn in loans, he continued.
The minister claimed that following the floods, the nation was at a crucial juncture and that the PTI was spending $25,000 per month on lobbying, which is currently against the interests of the country.
Imran Khan, the former prime minister, allegedly broke all of his commitments, including the building of five million homes.
According to the finance minister, the government was giving Rs 25,000 to 4 million families in the flood-affected areas at a cost of Rs 70 billion.
