ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has expressed serious concern that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecasted higher inflation projection for Pakistan.
Parliamentary Leader of the PPP in the Senate, Senator Sherry Rehman said, “It is extremely concerning that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecasted higher inflation projections for Pakistan.”
She said this should be a wake-up call for the PTI government who have pushed the economy to the edge with their disastrous policies and mismanagement. “It is ironic how they blame global prices for inflation, while regional inflation tells a different story. Pakistan’s inflation is at worrying 11.50 percent, whereas, India and Bangladesh are at 4.48 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.
The statistics speak for themselves and no amount of “lies” will cover up the economic catastrophe that this government has created over the last three years,” she said in a statement and in her tweets on Wednesday.
“The rupee is consistently in free fall as the daily record-breaking devaluation of Pakistani currency has become a norm.
There has been a devaluation of Rs55 since 2018 and Rs20 in FY22 alone, which is the highest devaluation in our history.
PKR now stands at a whopping 178.15 against the USD as a result of failed economic policies under this government. Even the Bangladeshi Taka at 86 and the Indian rupee at 76 are doing far better than the Pakistani rupee,” she added.
The PPP senator said, “Every economic indicator is in a steep decline under this government and there is no respite. The Current Account Deficit (CAD) which is currently at $5.084 billion (July–October) is expected to further go up according to the Governor of State Bank of Pakistan. Meanwhile, Pakistan imports increased to $23.484 billion during July-October FY22 against $14.119 billion in July-October FY21. This means that there has been an increase of $9.365 billion, which is 66 percent rise in imports”.
“The trade deficit for November stands at $5.107 billion which will obviously impact the CAD, which in turn results in weaker currency. There has been a massive 162.4 percent increase due to the severe imbalance in the imports and exports.
The trade deficit grew by $4.15 billion per month on an average and it is expected to reach $50 billion by the end of FY22. All this eventually leads to inflationary pressures which the people have to deal with as the government has turned a blind eye towards the plight of our people,” she added.
Rehman said, “The economy is in shambles and the confusing inconsistent, policies are not helping either. Instead of creating 10 million jobs and reducing poverty, this government has only added to it.
Debt and liabilities have reached Rs50.5 trillion, petrol is being sold at Rs145.82 per litre and gas load shedding has made it difficult for people to manage in this cold weather but the government is still saying that Pakistan is the cheapest country in the region.
Their delusion knows no bounds”. “The current state of our economy is a clear sign that this government has failed to live up to its promises and is unable to navigate the country through the crisis which they have created themselves. People want relief from poverty, unemployment, inflation and corruption,” concluded Rehman.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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