Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh the federal budget tabled by the government would be reconsidered in case the coronavirus crisis continued to plague Pakistan.
Speaking to a local media outlet, Shaikh said 27 per cent increase in revenue and 6.5 per cent inflation “does seem ambitious at the moment”.
“You’re right, it seems ambitious right now. There’s so much uncertainty about the future so we cannot say much. If corona [virus crisis] continues and its severity increases and the lockdown in some way or the other goes on, then this will need to be adjusted,” the adviser noted.
“However, if, in a good scenario, there’s improvement over the next two or three months and our economic activity kick starts, then I think it’s attainable,” he added.
“If our economy picks up after three months, then there can be improvement,” he said, adding that the 2.1% growth rate of GDP was already calculated with a smaller base, which had fallen considerably due to the negative growth.
“Another factor that cannot fully forecast is by how much will the demand for our exports grow,” Shaikh said.
Responding to a question about borrowing from commercial banks and how it could hurt investments and lead to crowding-out effect, he said Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government was trying not to borrow a lot and to lower its expenditures.
“And to do that [borrow less], whatever we can do — such as reducing our expenditures — we’re already doing. However, there are some things that are not in our control.
