Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry stated on Friday that Pakistan’s economic conditions will be “far better” by August 2022, as the country is heading in the “right direction”
Chaudhry, while speaking to reporters in Lahore stated that a phase of social protection programmes is being commenced in Pakistan which will pave way for improvement of the overall economic situation of the country.
While revealing details about the country’s debt payment, he informed that the PTI-led government had to return $55 billion in its next two years in debt payment, adding that a sum of $32bn had already been paid under debts in the last three years.
“We are paying the price for the legacy left by Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif,” the minister said, in reference to the last two governments of the PPP and PML-N.
Chaudhry further dispelled the impression given by the opposition about the country failing at the economic front, by stating that Shehbaz Sharif and other opposition leaders should not worry about the country as “it is heading in the right direction, and people are witnessing it”.
The minister stressed that the national economy was growing at five per cent and it will further stabilise in time to come.
“Also, take an example of the coronavirus pandemic as such calamities occur once in 100 years and Pakistan’s strategy to tackle it is being praised worldwide,” he added.
The minister further stressed that Pakistan’s politics, defence and economy were all quite stable.
Chaudhry further took a jibe at the rival parties, while stating that the opposition leaders were all panicked after the government expressed its intent to bring Nawaz Sharif back to Pakistan.
“We want the Lahore High Court to move on his case and Nawaz should be brought back at the earliest,” he said.
He went on to add that the government also wanted that cases involving Shehbaz Sharif should be taken up on a day-to-day basis.
When asked about the political implications of the “most important” appointment the PM was set to make in 2022, he wrapped his answer by stating “for God’s sake”.
Chaudhry, while talking about dollar depreciation, stated that he was pleased that the dollar depreciated against the rupee after the introduction of the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021 in the National Assembly on Thursday.
“This inflation cycle will break in three to four months, while the prices of vegetables will also decline in a couple of months,” he added.
He said the system through which Pakistan had been governed for the past several years was no more in practice. “Now, for the first time, a people-centric government is working in Pakistan”.
“If Pakistan is floating today, it’s because of Imran Khan and the PTI’s economic team,” claimed the minister.
The minister also highlighted the importance of the film and drama industry, by stating that “our stories have to be told through films and the way we ended our film industry was really unfortunate. We will now revive the medium to tell the story of Pakistan to the world.”
He concluded by stating that so far, the country had not been able to utilise the potential of the vital industry for its image-building.
