Islamabad:
Tehreek-E-Tahaffuz Ayeen-E-Pakistan (TTAP) leaders on Thursday accused the government of misleading the public over the country’s financial state, claiming manipulation of growth data, under-reporting trade deficits and a worsening of business climate, which has driven large international companies out of Pakistan.
At a news conference in the federal capital, former Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair said the ruling elite had deceived the nation by presenting an overly optimistic picture of the economy.
“We only present the truth about the economy,” he said.
“The government and the elite tell you something else. An impression is given that the Prime Minister’s visit to Malaysia, Saudi -Arabia and China brought unprecedented prosperity.”
Zubair claimed that from 2022 to 2026 Pakistan would witness the lowest growth rate in his history and rejected official claims of a GDP growth of 5.7 percent. “These numbers are false. This government has become a nightmare for the people,” he noted.
“The investment in the last two years is the lowest in the country’s last 70 years.”
Zubair said the government under -reported imports by $ 11 billion and did not respond to the IMF to the discrepancies.
“This means that both trading and ongoing account deficits were deliberately underestimated,” Zubair said, calling for accountability.
“[The government] must be ashamed [of itself.]. If it was the previous government, they would have been asked to resign. “
When he spoke to the occasion, former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra said the government’s claims of financial stability were a “package of lies”.
He noted that larger multinational corporations had left Pakistan and described it as a devastating blow to investors’ confidence. “These were among the world’s largest businesses. Their exit reflects [government’s] Political failure, “he said, adding that there had been no significant investment in the automotive industry either.” People suffer, but still there is no relief. “
