ISLAMABAD, Jun 8 (APP): Launching the important pre-budget document of ‘Pakistan Economic Survey 2022-23’ on Thursday, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar said restoring macroeconomic stability was the top priority of the incumbent government.
Addressing the survey launching press conference, the minister said the national economy suffered huge damages during the PTI government’s four-year rule, which dragged it to the brink of collapse.
The launching ceremony among others was attended by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of State for Finance Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha and senior officers.
“Our condition is that the economy of Pakistan that was the 24th big economy [of the world] in 2017, unfortunately, it became the 47th economy in 2022,” he said while stating the condition of the economy in one sentence.
“Our objective is to restore macroeconomic stability,” the minister said, adding there was a dire need to put the economy on the path of progress at a fast pace, and the government would “try to get the same pace of national growth as was witnessed in 2017.”
Initially, he said the government first wanted to take the national economy to the position of 2017 and then lead it towards further development and get it included in the G20 premium group, an opportunity that was lost due to unwise policies of the previous government.
He said along with macroeconomic stability, the government intended to put the economy on an inclusive and resilient growth trajectory and ensure its sustainability.
He said the incumbent government assumed power in 2022 at a time when the economy was on the brink of collapse. So, the government had to face huge challenges, including shrinking fiscal space, inflation, and current account deficit, whereas financing needs were growing, he added.
“Had the incumbent government not taken power at this crucial juncture, the situation for Pakistan would have been worst,” Dar said.
The finance minister said the incumbent government, under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, took tough decisions to recover the ailing economy by giving priority to “the state over politics,” following which things had started moving in the right direction.
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