WASHINGTON, Sept 27: India had amassed hundreds of thousands of troops along the border to cause an economic collapse of Pakistan, but the government’s economic planning has failed the Indian designs, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said here on Friday.
Talking to Pakistani newsmen after a reception at the Pakistani embassy here, he said by troop mobilization, India hoped that we would collapse. “But our resources continued to increase and there was no shortage of commodities.” He referred to an Indian newspaper, The Hindu, which had described New Delhi move as a strategy to beat Pakistan economically, but the move failed, he said.
The finance minister, who is in Washington to attend the annual IMF and World Bank meetings, strongly defended Pakistan’s economic policies, which he said, had enabled Pakistan to build up a foreign exchange reserve of $8.1 billion.
The government decision to ally with the United States in the war against terror was also bringing dividends.
The finance minister also defended efforts to stabilize dollar. He rejected the suggestion that Pakistan had purchased dollars from the kerb market to boost its reserve.
Kerb purchases, he said, were made almost a year ago to meet Pakistan’s needs. “It is a good practice to come through the normal channel. There has been no buying during the last six months.”
He said for the first time in Pakistan’s history the official exchange rate of dollar was higher than the market rate. “That is why remittances are going up.”
Bank’s country director, Wall, said Pakistan’s debt burden was still high but the situation had improved in the last three years. He also praised Pakistan’s ability to control inflation, giving the example of Turkey where one dollar is now equal to 1.6 liras. “Inflation takes the biggest toll on the poor. In Pakistan, it is still in double digits.”
The finance minister added that non-oil and non-food imports went up by 50 per cent in July and August when Pakistan imported machinery and technology for its industries.
He said it was wrong to say that the present government made its economic policies to please the World Bank and IMF. “Economic reforms have been necessary not because IMF and the WB wanted us to do so, because we wanted to reform our economy.”
“However, to implement a policy a country needs resources and that is when you go to international financial institutions and donor countries. We got help from the WB, IMF, Asian Development Bank, and the Islamic Bank.”
Outlining the government’s economic success, Secretary General Finance, Moin Afzal, said Pakistan’s annual import bill was $ 11 billion and the country had a reserve of $8.1 billion. “So we have enough resources for nine months import. This is the highest in Pakistan’s history.”
Earlier, the Pakistani delegation attended the Afghan restructuring meeting and met Congressman Jim Kolbe, chairman of the International Committee of the House Appropriation Committee.
The delegation also met Nicholas Turner, WB’s chief economist and senior vice president.
He said two major challenges Pakistan faced today,i.e., the tax reforms and public sector enterprises, particularly the power sector.