PESHAWAR: PTI central information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram on Friday claimed that the economy, remittance inflow and inflation rate were much better under the rule of his party compared to the current setup.

Addressing a news conference along with adviser to the chief minister on finance Muzammil Aslam at the information department here, Mr Akram rejected the federal government’s claims regarding “economic recovery” and said it was a “jugglery of words”.

Responding to the recent statements regarding the economic development by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and other federal ministers, he claimed that the GDP growth stood at 6.5 per cent under the PTI in 2022, while in 2024, it was 2.4pc.

“Economy performed well under the PTI and not now,” he said.

Mr Akram said that under the PTI government, inflation rate stood at 12pc, whereas the current government boasted about reducing inflation from 38pc to 13pc, which was still higher than that of Imran Khan’s rule.

Akram says economy performed well under PTI govt

He said that Pakistan debt had touched Rs43 trillion when the PTI government was ousted in 2022, which currently stood at Rs70 trillion.

The PTI leader said that remittances had touched $32 billion in a year, while it stood at $27 billion.

He also said that Pakistan’s exports under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government had touched $31 billion, while it had touched $26 billion in 2024.

Mr Akram said that the exchange rate of Pakistan rupee against the US dollar was Rs178 in 2022, while it had jumped up to Rs278.

He added that the poverty rate stood at 35pc in 2022 but it went up to 45pc in 2024.

“A recent World Bank report reveals, over 13.5 million people will slip into poverty,” he said.

Adviser to the chief minister on finance Muzammil Aslam said the provincial government was the first one in the country to set up a debt management fund.

He said that the provincial government had transferred Rs30 billion to this fund as well. Mr Aslam said that KP’s debt liabilities stood at Rs725 billion.

He said that 1.8 million people had gone abroad from Pakistan since 2022 due to the dire economic situation, while many more were waiting to leave the country.

The aide to the CM said that the KP government had released Rs30 billion for the Sehat Card Scheme, which was used to provide free medical care to over 900,000 people.

He said that there were 500 companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange but there were only five of them earning money.

Mr Aslam said that only about 100,000 people used to do business on the PSX, while the rest of the people did not even know about it.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2025