LAHORE: The PML-N says the latest report of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is a dossier on the PTI government’s failures and the destruction of Pakistan’s economy.

“The pathological liar, Imran, and his failed government have the audacity to say that the report reflects economic revival when it actually is a damning evidence of how bad the national economy is doing,” PML-N secretary information Marriyum Aurangzeb told a press conference in Model Town here on Tuesday.

She pointed out that the PTI regime had brought the GDP crashing down from 5.8pc to 1.9pc in its first year and for the first time since 1952, the GDP growth of the year 2019-2020 had been minus 0.4pc.

“This growth is the key indicator of the economic health of the country. Fractionally resuscitating a sunk economy is not revival,” Ms Aurangzeb commented and added that after crashing it from 5.8pc, this government had failed to add even a single percent to that plummeted growth rate.

The inflation, the report says, which was 3.9pc under the PML-N, was now around 13pc while the food inflation in urban areas was 14.6pc and in the rural areas, it was 16.4pc.

“It means the low-income groups have no money for healthcare, electricity, gas, children’s schools, house rents and transport,” she said.

Talking about unemployment, Ms Aurangzeb said when a country’s GDP was between 5 and 6pc, it added 1.6pc of its population to its labour force.

“But this government plummeted the GDP, which forced 4m people into joblessness while over 10.4m into abject poverty.”

About the budget deficit, the PML-N secretary information said that during the last year of the PML-N government, the budget deficit was 6.5pc while in the first year of the PTI, it was 9.1pc.

Pointing out that there had been a historic increase in public debt, she said the PML-N had over Rs10bn public debt in five years while in just two years, the PTI government topped that and added over Rs11bn to public debt.

“The total external debt jumped by 33.4pc under the PTI rule’s first year and on top of that 33.4pc, it added 45pc more in its second year, which amounted to around Rs14,000bn.”

Taking on PTI’s failure to meet its tax collection targets, she said the imposed PTI regime had not been able to increase tax collection in real terms by a single rupee. She pointed out that despite 40pc devaluation and 13pc inflation, the PTI government only collected Rs3,950bn out of Rs 5,555bn and later set the target at Rs4,300bn.

“The only thing recovering and appreciating are the bank accounts and lifestyles of Imran’s ATM machines and all those who are benefactors of the 23 illegal foreign funding accounts. Imran did give jobs, they were not for the people of Pakistan but for this friend’s circle of Bani Gala,” Ms Aurangzeb concluded.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2020