PTI issues white paper: Inflation increased by 45pc in last 8 months

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has released a white paper detailing the negative economic impact of the current coalition government, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN).

According to the document, inflation in the country has increased by 45% in the past eight months, and all economic indicators including exports, foreign direct investment and remittances, have shown a downward trend since the government took power in April last year.

It said that international agencies’ credit rating had remained negative throughout the last eight months, while threat to default on loan payments has also increased.

The PTI in its white paper stated that the economy was in a shambles when it came into power in 2018.

The paper also cites the agricultural sector as having suffered due to the incumbent government’s actions, and notes that Pakistan must pay back $127 billion in external debt, with 37 percent of the country’s GDP to be dedicated to servicing this debt.

The white paper states that poverty, unemployment, and inflation will continue to rise even if the government accepts the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s conditions for a bailout or it will default on loan.

It stated that there was zero investment in agriculture and industrial sectors. The former rendered the country food deficient while the latter resulted in increasing imports.

The paper also accused the PMLN of leaving behind a mess in the energy sector by overbuilding the power sector supply through imported fuel power plants, which had dollar linked capacity payments.

“The PTI government had inherited Rs1.6 trillion in circular debt, while the annual capacity payments were Rs450 billion in FY2017-18, which rose to Rs1.4 trillion in FY2022-23,” it added.

To further assert its numbers, the PTI white paper maintained that the current account deficit (CAD) it inherited was $19.2 billion, while the state bank reserves stood at $9.4 billion.

The party also claimed that the fiscal deficit was 7.6 percent of the total gross domestic product (GDP), and debt to GDP ratio was 64pc. The economic paper, while mentioning the declining exports and increasing imports in the country during the PML-N tenure between 2013 to 2018, observed that the value of rupee tumbled by 23pc against the US dollar.

While claiming that the country’s economy was on the brink of collapse when the PTI government took over in 2018, the party’s white paper elicited that soon after coming into power, the government needed $32 billion funding for loan payments.

The PTI government was forced to approach the IMF with tough conditions as the then prime minister Imran Khan’s efforts to raise foreign loans from friendly countries to fund the current account deficit and pay loan payments went in vain, the paper claimed.

The paper further stated that due to the IMF programme, it was forced to increase discount rate by 325 basis points, and electricity, power tariffs and fuel prices, reducing fiscal deficit to 5.5 per cent of GDP by increasing taxes from Rs3.7 trillion to Rs5.5 trillion in a single year.

Meanwhile, virtually addressing a seminar, former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan asserted that strong institutions were imperative to curb corruption, adding that the country’s economy can be restored only with the implementation of law.

He said that the current situation has exposed Shehbaz Sharif’s output Ishaq Dar’s policies.

Imran reiterated that political stability was a must to revive the country’s deteriorating economy, adding that transparent and immediate elections were the only way out of the prevailing challenges.

He regretted that two political families — Sharifs and Zardaris – had plundered the country for 30 years.

The PTI chairman said he feared the direction the country was heading, recalling that there was no example of what happened in the last eight months as more than 700,000 people left the country.

Speaking about the IMF, Imran stated that approaching the IMF would cause the country discomfort, adding that if the country received loans from the Fund, it would be difficult to make independent decisions.

Referring to the economic survey, the former prime minister said that after 17 years, it was his government that delivered for the country with perfection.

Talking about the exports, he said there was a dire need to resolve issues of the exporters, claiming that the former PMLN government left the country in a historical deficit.

He questioned how the country can be transformed into an Asian Tiger if exporters were not considered important. He slammed the coalition government, saying those involved in activities such as money laundering were now teaching the country a lesson.

Imran also expressed concern over the rising inflation, saying that the prices of essential commodities – including petroleum products and power – have increased by up to 200 percent.

He further claimed that almost 1.5 million people were left unemployed in the field of the textile sector. The former premier also expressed concern over the rupee depreciation against the US dollar.

The PTI chief cited Sri Lanka’s example, saying that the country was going through the same situation, lamenting that it was difficult for salaried people to survive under the circumstances.

Speaking about the next government, Imran said that the successor to the incumbent government should have come to power through a mandate.

He lamented that his government, ‘which was showing great performance’, was toppled and thieves were imposed on the country. “We were repeatedly told that we have failed to deliver and later a gang of thieves were imposed,” he added.

Imran claimed the PTI government generated 5.5 million jobs for unemployed people.

Lashing out at his opponents, he reiterated the allegations against Shehbaz Sharif and claimed that the current rulers of the country only came in power to get rid of their wrongdoings and corruption.