The prices of petroleum products may witness yet another record increase as the Pakistani Rupee has continued its freefall against the US Dollar despite financial assistance by Saudi Arabia to shore up the economy.
Speaking in this regard, Finance Adviser to Prime Minister Shaukat Tarin said that if the prices of petroleum products go up in the global market then the government would have no option but to raise the prices in the country.
In this case, the government would have to pass on the full impact of the increase in prices to the public as there is no more room for subsidies.
He recalled that the government has already provided enough subsidy on the petroleum prices by bringing down the sales tax to 1.6% from a whopping 17% when the incumbent government came to power more than three years ago.
Tarin said that the speculation around the exchange rate by the speculation mafia and the smuggling of US Dollars out of the country to Afghanistan in bulk are the main reasons behind the unprecedented depreciation of the Pakistani Rupee.
The Rupee was devalued by Rs. 8-10 due to speculative trading. The value of the Pakistani Rupee against the US Dollar should be around Rs. 165-167 as per the effective exchange rate.
The government has asked the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to put an end to speculative trading of the exchange rate and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to curb the smuggling of Dollars to Afghanistan.
He also claimed that the Pakistani economy could grow by 5% in FY 2021-2022. The revenue increased significantly and the manufacturing sector recorded double-digit growth while the country also reported bumper crops in the ongoing fiscal year.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has recorded 32% in the growth of income tax collection while the overall collection of taxes including income tax, sales tax, and customs is steadily growing as well. FBR is aiming to increase the revenue collection to 11% this fiscal year and to 14% in the next.
Govt failed to control inflation, PKR devaluation & overall economy & should take concrete & strict measures to control economic affairs.
Logo ko samaj he nahe a rahe whats really happening. Its one way of Allah giving a warning to straoghten up our act. We as a society are disgusting. Sure there are good and bad people everywhere, but we as a nation are inherently corrupt and reaping the fruits of what we did in the past
Yah Govt total failed ho chuki hai or is Govt se kuch bi control nai ho raha.na hi dollar, Ghee, sugar, petrol etc. or na hi aaj tak aik bi politican ko koi punishement howi hai. is mulk jangle ka law hai. sirf power ka use kiya jata hai kamzor ke khilaf.