ISLAMABAD: (HRNW) Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar has said that there is no plan to impose financial emergency in the country yet.
He made the claim while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Friday.
He said that he would support the establishment of a commission consisting of neutral experts to determine those responsible for economic destruction.
Dar blamed the previous PTI government for pushing the nation of 220 million people on the brink of default; claiming that it was the coalition government that saved the country by prioritising the state over their politics.
He admitted that the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was not in his hand, claiming that the country’s reserves would reach $16 billion by June 30, 2023.
Dar further said that they had acted on all priority points, adding that the government could not interfere regarding dollar rate.
He admitted his ignorance that he had no idea what happened with dollar as it shot up against the rupee significantly. He added that steps were being taken to stop the smuggling of dollars to Afghanistan. Many consignments had also been seized, he asserted.
The finance minister recalled that when the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) ousted Khan through a no-confidence motion, the leaders of the coalition government had decided to keep aside all political interests in the wider interest of the state.
“My presser today would be a reality check for Imran Khan,” Dar said angrily as the PTI leaders have been calling him out since the rupee plunged to a historic low of 285.09 a day earlier while February’s inflation hit nearly a 50-year high of 31.5%.
Bridging the external funding gap is not on the priority of the government, he said and added that they would get back what we had paid to China.
However, Pakistan is desperately trying to convince the Washington-based lender to release an overdue tranche of $1.1 billion which will open other financial avenues for Pakistan.
Dar reiterated that Pakistan has neither defaulted in the past nor will it default in the future.
Referring to Khan’s remarks about default, the finance minister said that the PTI chairman’s statements adversely affect the country’s financial markets.
He, however, admitted that the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) reserves fell below $3 billion.
Commenting on the economic crisis being faced by the country, he said that the unprecedented floods triggered by the above-normal monsoon rains last year causes losses worth over $30 billion.
Pushed to the brink by last year’s devastating floods, Pakistan has reserves barely enough for three weeks of essential imports.
The country needed over $16 billion for the rehabilitation of the flood affectees, Dar said, citing a report compiled by the World Bank. He recalled that the country secured flood pledges of more than a targetted $8 billion at the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva.
Sharing a numeric comparison of the performance of nearly four years of PTI and almost 11 months of PDM-led government, Dar said that Khan and Co. did everything to “destroy the country”; however, the numbers show who is sincere with the country.