Country faces no risk of default: NA informed

Islamabad; The National Assembly was informed in categorical terms on Friday that the country faces no risk of default.

Minister of State for Finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha told the house during question hour that the country was faced with a difficult situation when the present coalition government came into power as the IMF program was suspended.  

She said we have revived the IMF program while improvement is being seen in exports and remittances are also pouring in the country.  She said the investors are showing interest for investment in the country as a result of our reforms. 

The Minister of State said the international community has shown the intent to help Pakistan in the post flood reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.

Aisha Ghaus Pasha said policies are being framed to enhance the size of the formal economy by bringing potential taxpayers into the tax net. She said the entire supply chain from import to retail is being integrated with the FBR system to ensure documentation. 

She said responsibility rests with every Pakistani to pay taxes in order to provide funds for the health, education, transport, defense and other sectors.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi said that damage assessment has been completed in Punjab and Gilgit Baltistan while surveys of other provinces will be completed by the end of this month. He said damage assessment in Sindh and Balochistan could not be completed as the water was still standing in certain areas. 

He was confident that the data of damage assessment will be available by the first week of next month.