Hammad Azhar credits govt's 'tireless efforts' in bringing economy on path to progress

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar on Friday credited the government for its 'tireless efforts' in bringing out the economy from shambles and putting it on the path to progress. 

Azhar said that the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) recent review has showed that the government's economic reforms were on the right track, he said.

"After the ‘experienced’ group left the government, the country’s economy was in shambles," he said. 

Azhar said Moody’s — an international financial company — moved Pakistan from stable to the negative list due to the previous government’s failure.

"The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government pushed the economy out of darkness and Moody’s replaced Pakistan’s status to stable," he said. 

Azhar said that there had been a 73 per cent decrease in the current account deficit, which was good news for the nation. 

Muhammad Zubair’s take on current economic situation

Former governor Sindh Muhammad Zubair said, the improvement in the current account did not result due to an increase in exports, rather it happened due to the government’s inefficiency.

"A positive shift in the current account happens because of less imports," he said. "What the government is portraying as its success, it actually proves its inefficiency, he added.

Government’s inefficiency cost the country a loss of 40 billion dollars in only 16 months which resulted in one million people losing their jobs, he mentioned.

He described the government's economic policies as a 'suicide attack' on the country's economy.  

IMF says Pakistan’s ‘reform programme on track’, approves $452m second tranche

The IMF on Thursday approved Pakistan’s second tranche of $452 million under the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), and said Pakistan’s programme was on track and had started to bear fruit, but warned that risks remained.

The approval came after the Executive Board of IMF completed the first review of Pakistan’s economic performance under the EFF, said a press release issued by the lender.