LAHORE: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have reached nine billion dollars and are expected to rise to 18 billion, which will further improve the country’s economic situation.
This was claimed by senior PMLN leader, National Parliamentary Task Force Convener and National Assembly Member Bilal Azhar Kayani while addressing a press conference here on Saturday.
He emphasized that remembering martyrs is the tradition of living nations. On this Air Force Day, he said it is our national obligation to honour the services of martyrs.
Kayani pointed out that the foundation of national defence was the economy, and whenever the PMLN comes into government, it brings about economic development. He said the government has improved the economy as much as possible in the last six months. The stability of dollar and currency has led to an improved economy, he added. Inflation, which stood at 36%, and was 23% in February, has now come down to below 10%.
The decrease in inflation has reduced public suffering. The price of petrol, which was Rs280, is now Rs269, and the price of bread in Punjab has also decreased, providing relief to the public.
Bilal Azhar Kayani also highlighted that the State Bank’s policy rate has dropped from 22% to 19.5%, with inflation now standing at 10%. Despite the difficult situation, including the IMF programme, the federal government has provided a subsidy of Rs50 billion for electricity bills of zero to 200 units, while in Punjab, a relief of Rs14 per unit has been provided for 201-500 unit bills for August and September.
He mentioned that Fitch has announced a one percent improvement in Pakistan’s rating, and a staff-level agreement with the IMF has been reached, resulting in an inflow of funds. He also pointed out that the present government has increased the budget for the Benazir Income Support Programme. Kayani said that while the PMLN government had completed the IMF programme, progress was reversed from 2018 to 2023 due to the actions of a selected individual, who broke the IMF agreement and pushed the country toward default.
Kayani claimed that the government has planned to boost domestic exports with the IT sector showing the highest growth potential. He expressed confidence that the PMLN government will pull the country’s economy out of its current crisis. He said that the GDP, which was 8.8%, needs to be increased to 13%, and stressed that paying taxes is a duty for everyone. He said that the FBR is being digitised to make tax payments easier and reduce reliance on office visits. Criticising PTI founder Imran Khan, he alleged that Khan was influenced by a pro-Israel lobby and attempted to improve Israel-Pakistan relations through the Goldsmith family, which he accused of being responsible for the massacre of Palestinians. He also alleged that Zulfi Bukhari was promoting similar interests in the West, blaming Israel for the deaths of 40,000 Palestinians. He further accused the PTI chairman of engaging in corruption amounting to 190 million pounds and orchestrating the May 9 incident. He challenged the PTI founder to explain why he is advocating for stronger ties with Israel. In response to a question, Kayani said that the federal and Punjab governments are prioritising reduction in government expenditures. Efforts are being made to reduce the number of ministries to 40, and the government has increased the number of tax filers.