Ahsan Iqbal sees tough year ahead for Pakistan's economy

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal is not optimistic about the economy of Pakistan in the next year, 2023, as he said tough decisions would be needed to pass through the looming phase. 

In a media talk, Mr Iqbal said the outgoing year 2022 was toughest for country s economy, saying” “We need to stay cautious”. The PDM government was trying to restore the economy of country but PTI Chairman Imran Khan was disseminating despair among people. He said the PTI was continuously targeting the interests of the country. 

He said Pakistan’s economic woes intensified after 2018 when the PTI came into power, adding that the previous governments served severe blows to the national economy. He said development budget was used by the PTI to give subsidy on petrol and diesel. 

Pakistan’s economy was again at a crossroads and taking political decision would inflict losses on the system, he said, adding that the country could not achieve progress until the elimination of extremism. He recalled that the people of Punjab gave mandate to the PML-N in 2018 but Usman Buzdar was imposed on the province.