Dar 'rules out' worrisome factor, says country 'rescued from default'

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar here Wednesday once again gave a clear message that there was no question of Pakistan going into default as the same has been averted, though at very high political cost.

“I want to give message to markets through this conference… no need to get nervous, we are back to business In Sha Allah we will arrange everything. Nothing is to worry” the minister said while addressing the All Pakistan Chartered Accountant Conference.

He said Pakistan would be fine and nobody should have problem because “Pakistan will not default,” adding that that there were serious challenges the country had been facing, however the incumbent government had rescued it from default although it had to give very high political cost.

If there is choice between the state or politics, the priority should be the state and not the politics as “If the country is there, there may be politics. If there is no county where there would be politics?” he asked.

The minister said that the country would require around $32-34 billion to fulfill its liabilities and financial needs for the fiscal year 2022-23. These include around $22 multilateral-level debt liabilities and around $12 billion current account deficit.

He however was of the view that government would work hard to fulfill these sovereign guarantees to save pride of the country.

The minister once again clarified the government position about rescheduling of Paris Club debts, saying soon after assuming the portfolio of finance minister he had announced that the government would not approach Paris Club for rescheduling of loans.

Likewise, he also rejected the speculations about extending bond maturity dates beyond December 2022. He said that Pakistan was a sovereign country so it should meet its obligations in time for its own credibility and honour.

He urged the chartered accountants to play their role and influence politicians to work for betterment of country’s economy.

The minister said Pakistan had deep challenges which were further increased by devastating floods.

However, he was confident that everything would be corrected as was done back in 1998-99 and 2013, when the country was facing similar challenges.

He said, in its last tenure, the PML-N government had put economy on growth path and it was predicted that it would be become 18th big economy, leaving behind Canada and Italy, however lamented that due to political interest of some parties this could not be done.

He said, had the political parties joined the hands together, the country would have achieved target of becoming 18th economy by 2026, however due to political instability, it stands at 54th position now.

He said, he had always favoured ‘Charter of Economy’ that would help put the economy of country on sustainable growth path.

He said PML-N assumed power in 2013 at a time when the country was facing serious macroeconomic challenges and its was predicted to be going in default in six to seven months.

However, the government fixed the problems and took the economy towards growth. The whole world acknowledged the progress at that time while the country’s ratings went up, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation was recorded at 4 percent and food inflation at 2 percent. The country had stable currency around Rs104 in parity with dollar and had reserves of around $26 billion.

Had this journey been allowed to continue, the country would have become member of G20 Club and 18th large economy, he added.

Talking to reporters, the minister said the government was actively pursuing the purchase of cheaper oil from Russia.

He said that if India could benefit from buying Russian oil, Pakistan could as well.

SOURCE: APP