ISLAMABAD: Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar has said that the government has achieved remarkable success in its three years tenure regarding economic growth rate of the country.
Talking to a private news channel, the energy minister said that every sector is showing positive results. He said the increase in remittances, exports and foreign reserves as well as improvement in stock exchange and agriculture sector are the results of prudent policies of the incumbent government.
Replying to a question, the minister said provision of gas to domestic consumers is the top most priority of the government. He said uninterrupted gas supply has been ensured to domestic and industry sectors for the last three years.
He expressed the hope that the country’s exports would not only cross $ 30 billion benchmark but that the foreign remittance would also remain above $30 billion during the current fiscal year. He said that $10-11 billion debt has also returned, besides curtailing flow of circular debt to Rs130 billion last year.
He said the PTI government not only achieved 5.37 percent growth during its third year of rule but also the current account deficit remained below $2 billion. The foreign remittance witnessed sharp increase and the revenue collection also registered a 35 percent increase during the last year, he added.
He said the government had to take “tough decisions” to stabilise the economy. Owing to the government’s prudent policies, the country’s reserves, exports witnessed an increase and international rating agencies upgraded Pakistan’s economic outlook, he added.
Hammad said the agriculture sector registered 3.5 percent, large scale industry 7.8 percent and services sector 5.8 percent increase during the said period. He said the PTI government inherited a fragile and weak economy. However, the incumbent government not only put the economy on the right track but also achieved all financial targets despite numerous challenges including Covid-19 pandemic.
The minister said uninterrupted gas supply is being provided to 1870 industrial units, fertilizers companies and power plants. He said there is a complete ban on new gas connections across the country.
The ban was not imposed for the first time; rather the PPP government had also banned new connections in 2011 and continued till 2017. However, the PML-N government lifted the ban during its last year on political grounds, he added.
