Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Hamad Azhar and Asad Umar have condemned the Pakistan Democratic Party (PDM) for the “catastrophic” economic collapse of the country.
Azhar criticized Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for submitting the Pre-Budget Pakistan Economic Survey 2022-23, saying that he should have submitted his resignation along with the survey.
Criticizing the PDM coalition government on Twitter, the former finance minister said: “The economic destruction that PDM has done in one year has not happened in a war or an epidemic.”
بنتا تو یہ تھا کی ڈار صاحب اس مالی سال کا اقتصادی سروے پیش کرنے کے ساتھ اہنا استعفی بھی پیش کرتے۔
— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) June 9, 2023
جو معاشی تباہی ایک سال میں پی ڈی ایم نے برپا کی ہے وہ کسی جنگ یا وبا میں بھی نا ہوئی۔
‘Biggest growth slowdown since 1971’
Meanwhile, PTI’s Omar described the country’s economic collapse as “catastrophic”.
“GDP growth slowed to 0.3 percent this year from 6.1 percent last year, according to government data. This is the highest growth rate for Pakistan since 1971,” he wrote on Twitter.
The former minister reminded the government that “it is not working. It is time to rethink, realign and restore.”
GDP growth declined from 6.1% last year to 0.3% this year as per govt statistics. This is the biggest growth decline since 1971 for Pak. Add the highest inflation in nations history. The economic collapse is catastrophic. This ain't working. Time to rethink, reset & revive
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) June 9, 2023
PTI politicians have been criticizing the government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for its economic policies since the removal of their party chairman following a no-confidence vote in April last year.
Pakistan Economic Survey 2022-23
A day earlier, the finance minister presented the pre-budget survey during a press conference in Islamabad as part of his first budget for the Shahbaz-led administration.
The federal government’s budget, which will be announced today, is said to have analysts wary of any hint of a populist sell-out and will also try to find out whether the government has any other Willing to exercise the economic discipline required for entry into the International Monetary Fund. Fund (IMF) program.
According to the Economic Survey, Pakistan’s GDP growth crawled in the current fiscal year – one of the worst in terms of meeting annual macroeconomic targets – due to inflammatory politics, devastating floods, trade disruptions. , and a dangling IMF bailout dragged on. At least on top of foreign exchange reserves.
At the start of the presser, Dar reminded reporters of 2013 when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) government took over. He clarified that at a time when the economy was in a state of crisis, there was 18-hour load shedding and terrorism was at its peak.
“We followed our ‘three E’ concept and Pakistan saw macroeconomic growth,” recalled Dar, adding that we are now focusing on five aspects – exports, equity, empowerment, environment and Energy These are our five driving areas.
The main points of the economic survey were as follows:
- Real GDP grew by 0.29 percent in FY23.
- GDP at current market prices in FY23 is Rs 84,657.9 billion, showing a growth of 27.1% over last year (Rs 66,623.6 billion).
- Per capita income stood at $1,568 from $1,765 last year.
- Investment to GDP ratio stood at 13.6% in FY23 as against 15.6% in FY22.
- The growth of agriculture sector in FY23 is estimated at 1.55%.
- The industrial sector recorded a negative growth of 2.94% in FY23.
- The services sector witnessed a modest growth of 0.86 percent.
