ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb while painting a rosy picture of the economy on Sunday made it clear that every sector will have to contribute towards building on the hard-earned macro-stability to further strengthen the economy of the country.

In a televised address the minister said that government was firm on compliance and enforcement regarding the revenue and taxations and every sector will have to play its due role. The minister also announced that Prime Minister would unveil a homegrown economic agenda soon.

The government was committed to building on the hard-earned macro-stability to further strengthen the economy of the country, adding that “prudent economic policies” had led to substantial improvement, he added.

Pakistan to explore international capital markets in due course, says Aurangzeb

Talking about the recent visit of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation to Pakistan, he said it is an ongoing dialogue process, and discussions were held on energy and SOE reforms, the privatisation agenda, and public finance.

The minister said that that the matter of climate resilience was repeated with the Fund, however he didn’t share the outcomes in this regard. There was nothing to hide in IMF mission’s visit to Pakistan, Aurangzeb said.

“I have welcomed this visit because we have an ongoing dialogue as mutual trust and dialogue is made by dialogue,” Aurangzeb said.

Finance minister said that the confidence level of the international monetary institutions in Pakistan has significantly increased.

Aurangzeb said that negotiations were primarily focused on the government’s reform agenda, whereas the IMF welcomed bringing the provincial deficit to surplus in just a short span of 14 months.

“Such interactions and discussions are vital for mutual credibility and trust,” he said. “We have shared with the IMF our commitment towards the rightsizing of the federal government.”

Regarding revenue and taxation, he said the government was firm on compliance and enforcement and every sector will have to play its due role in this regard. “The discussions with the IMF were very positive on the matter of revenue and taxation,” he said.

He emphasised that like the salaried class, the real sector must be included in the tax net and strict measures will be taken in this regard to increase the tax revenue.

He admitted, however, that these segments were already beyond the saturation point. “We cannot afford to tax more the same [classes] who have been taxed at a level which is not sustainable anymore,” he had said.

The economy was showing signs of improvement due to the sincere efforts of the incumbent government, said the minister, adding that inflation had come at the single digit – seven percent - from 38 percent as the PM himself had been spearheading the efforts in this regard.

The finance minister said the international financial institutions had shown trust in the country’s ability to handle the economic crisis.

The minister highlighted the cooperation by the chief ministers of four provinces adding that the government could achieve the best possible outcome by working as a whole.

Providing details about the discussions that took place between the Pakistani delegation and the various multilateral institutions during his visit to Washington DC in October, he said: “The international community, financial institutions, and rating agencies had commended the government’s efforts in leading the country’s economy from deficits to surpluses.”

He also mentioned that he engaged with his counterparts from various countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, China, Turkiye, and officials of the US treasury, while he also met up with officials of various rating agencies.

The finance minister said, “We were given a platform there to share with the comity of nations about how we achieved this turnaround in just 14 months.”

The minister also emphasised the need to talk about the existential issues facing the country which he said included “unchecked population growth and the climate emergency.”

“Someone said this yesterday as well and I endorse it that this is not only a charter of the economy but a charter of the environment as well.” He called upon everyone to treat these issues with the same urgency.

Talking about rightsizing of the federal government, he said talks with 11 ministries have been carried and now they are in implementation process. He further said that bleeding on account of pensions was stopped.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024