Islamabad, Dec 2: At a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance today, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb issued a warning: economic changes are pointless if the nation’s expanding population is not controlled. One of the main issues jeopardizing Pakistan’s long-term economic stability, he said, is population increase.
The major change from deficits to surpluses in the primary and current accounts, as well as the rise in foreign reserves to cover two and a half months’ worth of imports, were among the recent economic gains that the minister emphasized.
According to Aurangzeb, private sector credit expansion has been aided by a significant decline in inflation from 38% to 5% and a decrease in the policy rate from 22% to 15%. In addition to reaching outstanding IMF goals for privatization and rightsizing, he emphasized the necessity of energy and economic reforms. The finance minister stated that the government and the World Bank are collaborating on a 10-year climate change program.
