Summary Dar was congratulated by senators for making Pakistan an "economic superpower"
Dunya News Report (Madiha Fareed)
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday briefed the senate on the country’s economy and presented a very promising picture citing that overall economic indicators of the country suggest that government is moving in the right direction. The briefing was immediately subjected to backlash from the opposition senators.
Finance Minister informed the senate that the budget deficit during seven months of the current fiscal year was 1.8 percent as against 2.3 percent of same period last year. He added that a 6 percent increase in the Remittances by Overseas Pakistanis was recorded as compared to the same period last year.
He dismissed the speculations that country’s foreign debt has increased up to $100 billion saying that there’s a difference between the public debt and the total debt which the country “so-called economic experts” repeatedly confuse in their analysis. “Country’s public debt is $53.4 billion and its total debt is $68.5 billion,” he added.
Mr. Dar informed the house that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected taxes worth Rs. 1593.5 billion during the first seven months of current fiscal year as against Rs. 1345.3 billion the same period last year, constituting an 18.4 percent increase. The Minister expressed the confidence that at the current pace of collection, the country could expect tax collection of Rs. over 3000 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.
The Finance Minister acknowledged that there was an eleven percent decline in exports during first seven months of the current financial year because of global economic depression.
However the minister failed to impress the opposition senators who questioned the authenticity of the statistics Mr. Dar presented before the house.
Aitzaz Ahsan said that “it looked nothing more than gimmickry of figures”. He asked Chairman Senate to fix a time for a debate on Finance Minister’s briefing. The debate on the issue is expected to be held next week.
FM was heavily mocked by the opposition members for presenting a “rosy picture” of the economy. Muttahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) Senator Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif congratulated the finance minister for making Pakistan an “economic superpower” stating that “I have only taken the floor to congratulate Finance Minister for eliminating the poverty, paying back all foreign debts and solving all of country’s problems”.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf senator Noman Wazir regarded Finance Minister’s speech as “window dressing” as he said he would refrain from using the word figure “fudging”.
The lawmakers from Balochistan said that despite all the progress claimed by the minister, there is no physical evidence to support those claims”, adding that “seventy percent of the province’s population lives below poverty line.”
Among other things, the Finance Minister vowed that Pakistan will not roll back on its nuclear programme even if the country’s debts mount up to $100 trillion. “The country would not compromise on its nuclear programme as it is an asset of the nation,” he added.
The senate also passed a resolution to pay tribute to Sharmeen Obaid Chinnoy for winning the second Oscar Award for her short documentary film “A Girl in the River: The Price of forgiveness” which highlights the menace of honor killings in Pakistan. The resolution was moved by MQM senator Nasreen Jaleel.
