Pakistan is going through a “very difficult” period, according to FM Ismail, a day after his budget speech

*Paromita Das

Pakistan is in a “very difficult” period, said Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Saturday, a day after presenting the federal budget for 2022-23 to the National Assembly.

During a press conference here, the minister warned that Pakistan was going through a “very difficult” period that was unprecedented.

“I have never seen a more difficult time in the last 30 years where, on the one hand, the international environment is very challenging and, on the other hand, the government or administration has deteriorated and nothing has been done to resolve issues,” Pakistan’s finance minister was quoted as saying by Dawn.
He claimed that Pakistan produces electricity at high costs due to poor administration. Ismail stated that he was “not alarmist,” but that the country’s economy “cannot bear it.”

The Pakistani finance minister emphasized the importance of “fixing things,” adding, “We can’t afford expenditure for which we don’t have the capacity.”

“It is unfortunate that we must seek assistance from other countries in the form of packages, loans, or deposits,” he lamented. “Pakistan is a decent country with nuclear weapons. We must correct our economy.”

Ismail presented the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which runs from July 2022 to June 2023, to the lower house of the country’s parliament on Friday.
In his speech to parliament, the minister stated that 3.95 trillion rupees of the total 9.5 trillion rupee budget have been set aside for debt servicing, while 800 billion rupees have been set aside for the next year’s public sector development program.

Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, described the budget as balanced, progressive, and pro-people.

“Making a budget in financially difficult times with so many constraints is a herculean task… My government will steer us out of these difficulties with this budget by making difficult decisions while minimising the impact on vulnerable segments of the population “said the prime minister.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan has rejected the incumbent government’s budget for the new fiscal year, calling it “anti-people” and “anti-business.”

“We reject the anti-people and anti-business budget presented by the imported government,” Khan tweeted, adding that it is based on “unrealistic assumptions” about inflation and economic growth.

“The budget is based on unrealistic assumptions about inflation (11.5%) and economic growth (5 per cent). Today’s SPI of 24% indicates that inflation will be between 25 and 30%, which will, on the one hand, destroy the common man “He said he’d keep the thread going on Twitter.
Imran went on to say that weekly inflation, as measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), was around 24 percent, implying that inflation would be between 25 and 30 percent. It will not only destroy the common man, but it will also slow economic growth due to high interest rates.

All tax reforms and pro-poor programmes implemented by the PTI government had been scrapped, he said, slamming the Shehbaz government.