Ahsan Iqbal depicts the economy in pessimistic terms
Ahsan lamented that during the past four years, a substantial portion of money for the provinces had burdened down the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), and that 42% of schemes had been included in the programme as a result, leaving little to nothing for the federal initiatives.
These opinions were shared by the federal minister while he briefed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Planning, which was presided over by Khalid Magsi.
He informed the committee that his predecessors engaged in adhocism and avoided developing comprehensive strategies. He painted a dire image of the economy and asserted that the only way the nation could overcome its problems was if it could produce $100 billion in five years.
According to the minister, in order to meet the nation’s external financial needs, domestic exports must rise from $30 billion to $100 billion over the course of the next five years.
He claimed that despite Pakistan’s development program’s yearly financing needs being over Rs. 1900 billion, the government was only able to set aside Rs. 700 billion for the current fiscal year due to budgetary restrictions.
The minister claimed that while the PML-N government implemented Vision 2010 and Vision 2025, the previous administration did not approve the five-year plan.
The past administration, he continued, was always accusing people of being thieves and infuriated China by charging it with spending lavishly on projects. The government is prepared to hold the 11th meeting of the Pakistan-China Joint Coordination Committee on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) because “we are now regaining China’s confidence.”
Ahsan Iqbal further stated that the federal government’s tax and non-tax revenues would total Rs. 9000 billion this year, of which Rs. 4000 billion would be distributed to the provinces and Rs. 4000 billion would be used to pay off debts. This meant that the entire government was dependent on borrowing.
He added that Pakistan has the advantage of its location and that China has the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative plan, and that by taking use of this, we may become a commercial hub for a sizable portion of the world.
He claimed that China also benefits from having a different corridor as part of CPEC. Pakistan would greatly profit if even 5% of China’s trade originated in Pakistan.
He added that Chinese businesses had established energy projects under the IPP model and that China had provided the concessional loans for infrastructural projects.
According to Ahsan Iqbal, there were issues with Chinese business visas under the Tehreek-i-Insaaf. 58 percent of the NFC’s revenue now goes to the provinces as a result of the 18th Amendment, he claimed, thus maintaining stable political conditions and sustainable economic growth strategies are essential.
Syed Mahmood Shah, a committee member, lamented at the meeting that not a single project from his district had been included in the PSDP 2022–23.
