PML-N leader and former finance minister Sartaj Aziz has said that the government will need an overall strategy and vision to overcome the current economic crisis. In his interview with a private TV channel on Monday he said that the county is facing short-term and medium-term economic problems therefore, the government must take steps forthwith to restore confidence.
"As our foreign exchange reserves are fast depleting, the government has rightly been focusing attention to get $5 billion or so from somewhere to overcome this crisis," he said. He said that the government should focus attention on agriculture, which will adopt a pleasant impact on the economy. Sartaj Aziz also advised the government to decrease the expenditures by 25 per cent.
Referring Shaukat Tareen's visit to the US, advisor to the prime minister on finance, he said that he had not gone for any IMF package but to attend a World Bank meeting in Washington.
He further said that the government had also announced not to seek aid from IMF because its conditional ties were anti people. He said he had no knowledge about the friends of Pakistan, whether it will link the aid with IMF conditional ties. He said, "if it is done, it will add to our problems, therefore, the government should try to get aid from China and Saudi Arabia, which are not part of Western bloc on bilateral basis."