'Understated budget deficit'

This refers to a Business Recorder op-ed "Understated budget deficit" by Dr Hafiz A Pasha. That his argument is nothing short of a charge-sheet against the government is a fact that can be discerned from the following: "Overall, history is likely to be repeating itself once again in 2015-16. In the presence of a larger fiscal deficit than targeted, the MoF may be forced to opt once again, like the last two years, for a large negative 'statistical discrepancy' to show a smaller deficit. Nevertheless, the MoF must be complimented for having convinced the IMF in Dubai that the fiscal deficit is 5.3 percent of the GDP, when it is actually significantly higher". Dr Pasha, therefore, is required to produce incriminating evidence to substantiate his point. Though, reasons spelled out by him are quite interesting, these cannot be taken as facts in the absence of truly cogent reasons because whatever he has said can be easily challenged or countered by the government.