LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry says the World Bank report has exposed hollow claims of Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar that Pakistan’s economy is performing well.

The World Bank report has projected a moderate growth rate of 4.4 per cent which is lower than Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives, he said.

Mr Dar would miss even this target for the second consecutive year because he was master of fooling the nation with cooked up figures, he said.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, Mr Chaudhry said that he could only see corruption growing at a fast pace or growth in the personal wealth of PML-N leaders.

He questioned where were the structural changes in any segment of economy, saying all growth was from borrowings of the IMF. He said 4.4pc growth rate was below Pakistan’s potential but no one at the helm of affairs was serious to unleash the potential.

PTI’s Secretary-General Dr Yasmin Rashid said the PML-N believed that everyone in the nation could be deceived.

The most important need was that the people in power should be honest in Pakistan and that did not come by easily particularly from the ruling class, she said.

“It is shameful that Pakistan is the worst performing regional economy after Afghanistan,” she regretted.

Dr Rashid said the World Bank report had predicted 5pc growth rate (almost double) for Afghanistan in the next fiscal year while Pakistan’s growth rate was projected only 4.6pc.

She said the so-called experienced team of the Sharif brothers had brought Pakistan to its knees.

Information secretary Andleeb Abbas said that Ishaq Dar was the best spin-doctor as nobody knew better than him how to tweak and twist the figures.

She said Pakistan’s economy was in worse condition yet Ishaq Dar kept lying all the time.

“What is the capability of finance minister when he can’t revive the economy despite bumper crop of cotton and cheap international oil prices,” she questioned.

She said Pakistan had the potential to grow at least 7pc annually but the Sharif family and friends were only interested in filling their own pockets.

She said the finance ministry needed pragmatic and not the emotional thinking. “Every year Isahq Dar comes up with loud hue and cry ahead of budget announcement but he keeps on taxing the poor and exempting the rich,” she observed.

Economic murder: Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed has said the provincial government is planning an “economic murder” of farmers by introducing policies that will compel growers to sell wheat for less than Rs1,000 per 40kg instead of Rs1,300 per 40kg.

Speaking at a news conference at the Punjab Assembly, Rasheed, a senior Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader, said his party would raise farmers’ voice in the assembly session to safeguard their interest.

He alleged that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was wasting billions of rupees from the national exchequer by allowing private sector to import 700,000 metric tonnes of wheat on subsidised rates despite the fact that 1.9 million metric tonnes were already lying in Punjab.

He said the government did not export excessive wheat nor took proper care that resulted in damage to the crop. He added the government had again fixed a target of two million metric tonnes of wheat.

“The Punjab government is already under debt of Rs133 billion from banks and is again seeking a loan of Rs40 billion for the purchase of wheat,” he claimed.

He said the government would be paying billions of rupees as interest on loans.

“The rulers are not concerned about the national exchequer but their own commissions,” he regretted.

Referring to the upcoming local body elections in cantonment boards, the PTI leader said the PML-N ministers were visiting the areas in Lahore and spending lavishly from public resources.

“The PTI demands that the Election Commission take notice of this pre-poll rigging,” he said.

Deputy Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Sibtain Khan and other PTI MPAs were also present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2015

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