Former finance minister Shaukat Tarin Thursday said that the agreement with International Monetary Fund (IMF) would not serve the interest of the public, as the incumbent government accepted its harsh conditions which the PTI government had categorically rejected.
Speaking at a press conference, he said that the PTI-led government took a bold step and rejected the IMF’s condition of raising the prices of electricity and petroleum products. He said that the plan of the PTI government was to cover the capital by increasing the tax base.
He further said that former Prime Minister Imran Khan went to friendly countries and the IMF to rescue the country from the economic mess left by the PMLN government and successfully put the country on the path of economic growth.
He stated that the economic team of the present regime released the statistics of the PTI government, clearly indicating that the economy was strengthening, which they earlier refused to accept.
He noted that PTI’s policies in the past two years enabled higher growth for two consecutive years and in the current year, the country posted 4.4 percent growth in the agriculture sector and 7 percent in the industrial sector. He said that when everything was running smooth and the country’s economy was stabilizing, dislodging PTI government was beyond comprehension.
Tarin said that India and China were procuring cheap oil from Russia but the imported rulers were giving lame excuses to avoid a similar deal.
Expressing concern, Tarin said that the imported government dropped petrol and diesel bombs on the people as soon as they took the reign, increasing the price of petrol by Rs. 60 in one week and electricity by Rs. 7.5 per unit. He said the price of gas has been increased by 45 percent.
He said that downgrading of Pakistani banks would also affect the economy, inflation could reach 25 to 30 percent in the country and the economic crisis could stop the wheel of the country’s industries, besides rendering thousands of workers jobless.
He warned that the incumbent government’s economic policies would also reduce the growth rate.