ISLAMABAD
\nFinance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday while rejecting the default speculations, said that country\u2019s economy is heading in the right direction and there is no risk of default.
\nSpeaking to the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) members during a ceremony in Islamabad, Dar took a jibe at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) top brass, saying that the PTI leaders are spreading baseless rumours over the country\u2019s economic situation, adding that these speculations were damaging investors trust and creating uncertainty among them.
\n\u201cPakistan\u2019s economy is heading in the right direction, and there is no risk of default,\u201d said Ishaq Dar.
\nMeanwhile, in a statement today, Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar lashed out at the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and also a little at his immediate predecessor Miftah Ismail, stating that the rupee was devalued too irresponsibly in the past, which has created the current situation.
\nDar said that the national economy was at a crucial moment where it could not afford any further shocks or experiments.
\nCriticizing the opposition for overseeing one of the worst periods for the country economically, Dar said that the way the country was growing when they left, the country should be among G-20 countries today.
\nInstead, he said that our economy was currently ranked 46th in the world. He said that the opposition, who has cried hoarse about the country defaulting and of unproven corruption allegations and mismanagement of the incumbent institution on the global scale, has damaged Pakistan\u2019s credibility and, thus, its ability to get out of the crisis.
\nHowever, Dar said that the country would not default just because the opposition says so. He also said that the rupee was devalued irresponsibly, which would create problems for the economy.
\nThe financial czar said that in 2013 when they took over, many people said that the country was about to default, but we managed to avert that in a budget presented in just five days. He said that they initiated a program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2013 and completed it by 2016, a first for the country.
\nAnd the reward he got for that was that he was pursued like a terrorist and forced to flee the country.
\nOn the current challenges faced by the government, Dar said that we would have to work hard and focus on improving Pakistan\u2019s macroeconomic indicators. \u201cHere, the rich get their loans written off, but if loans of a few thousands of poor widows are late, their properties are seized,\u201d he said.
\nTerming the politics of the opposition as non-serious, he urged them to return to the table.
\nCritically, Dar said that there was an urgent need to stop the smuggling of wheat and other essentials from the country.
\nEarlier on Friday, the Interior Minister said that said that economy is the most pressing issue of the country and not the elections right now.
\nRana Sanaullah said charter of economy was needed today and urged all political parties to come together to work on it. The interior minister believed that talks could end the deadlock, leading to resolutions of issues. But, he added, dialogue must be unconditional.
\nTalking about the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo s return to the country, Sanaullah said that Nawaz Sharif would return to Pakistan to lead the party s election campaign.
\nHe further said though it was not feasible to conduct general elections in the country right now, the date of next elections could be discussed with the opposition if they were ready for unconditional talks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday while rejecting the default speculations, said that country\u2019s economy is heading in the right direction and there is no risk of default. Speaking to the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) members during a ceremony in Islamabad, Dar took a jibe at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) top brass, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-300569","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n