Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin Thursday said the government aims to free Pakistan from the shackles of international financial institutions to enable it to develop with financial independence.
Addressing a conference ‘Pakistan Leadership Conversation 2022 (Sustainable Growth for Pakistan)’, organized by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Pakistan, the minister gave an overview of the economy before and after the pandemic and spoke about the steps taken by the government to stabilize the macroeconomic indicators.
While referring to the tough conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the minister said that he wants Pakistan’s economy to progress as it did in the 1960s when it was the fourth-largest economy in Asia.
“We are strengthening Pakistan economically, and the government wants to end the country’s dependence on foreign financial institutions so that Pakistan can develop faster,” he said.
The minister said that the government has taken several steps to put the economy on the right track and a historic relief package was given during the pandemic to save the economy. An integrated strategy was also adopted to save the common man from financial hardships. He said that effective economic policies, strategies, implementation, and the government’s initiatives have made the improvement in the economic indicators possible.
Highlighting the government’s policies and challenges, Tarin remarked, “Strict measures were taken for financial management to improve the economy. The government had problems with current account deficit and payments”.
He said the pandemic had decelerated the growth of the economy to negative. He added that Pakistan’s initiatives during the pandemic were recognized globally and the government also paid special attention to the agriculture and export sectors. With these measures in place, the economy rose from negative to 5.6 percent growth, which is a remarkable recovery.
“Currently, the economy is growing at a rate of five percent, there is still a need to take concrete steps for the poor as the global crisis and inflation are hitting the poor the hardest,” he said and added that the government is focused on getting the poor and low-income groups back on their feet.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman Board of Investment Azfar Ahsan said that the pandemic destroyed millions of jobs and businesses. He said the government’s measures during the pandemic helped in reviving the economy.
In his introductory remarks, President ACCA Pakistan Asad Hameed Khan said that ACCA is working on nine out of 17 sustainable development goals and mentioned that the association will continue to bring positive changes in the economy with its input.
