Finance minister Ishaq Dar deserves praise for showing a great deal of optimism amid the current economic slump and woeful depletion in foreign exchange reserves in the country, saying that the country is not on the verge of a financial crisis and “will absolutely not default”.

He must be aware of the fact that growing fears of default have refused to die down despite his assertion. And there are reasons for growing pessimism in the markets.

A fall in workers’ remittances and a prolonged delay in the release of much-needed IMF tranche amid little or no economic growth are the factors that are characterizing the country’s economic scene.

That Dar is an astute finance minister is a fact. He would have brought the country’s beleaguered economy back on the rails had there been no protracted political turmoil that has enormously eroded business and investor confidence.

Needless to say, economic stablisation greatly hinges on political stability in the country. Although there are grounds for optimism, a wave of deepening uncertainty still stalks the country.

Mehwish Sultan,

Islamabad

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023