Former finance minister advises government to reverse relief package announced by PTI
KARACHI: Prominent economist Dr Hafeez Pasha Friday said that the PTI government presented wrong and exaggerated figures related to job creation and inflation in the country.
In a serious blow to the PTI's claims that the country’s economic situation was good when their government was ousted, the former finance minister said the new employments numbers were exaggerated while it was wrongly claimed the inflation rate went down.
Speaking in Geo News programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath, Dr Hafeez Pasha said only 2.5 million new jobs were created against 5.5 million promised.
The inflation rate was put at 7.12% contrary to the actual 15%, he said adding the unemployment rate reached 9% in the PTI government.
Hafeez Pasha also contradicted the Imran government’s claim of a 15% increase in industrial growth saying it was in fact 1-2%.
“There was an increase of 5.5 to 6 million in the labour force in the country during the three-and-a-half-year period of PTI government”, he told the anchorperson.
Pasha said that the current budget was prepared when the petrol prices were around $60 per barrel and it was believed that there was a possibility to impose a levy and collect around Rs610 billion but the Ukraine-Russia conflict has pushed the oil prices above $100 per barrel.
“I think that the relief Rs10 relief in POL was inappropriate and should be reversed. It is not possible to go beyond that because of the high import price.”
He said that if the POL prices are hiked it would increase the inflation further burdening the masses.