ISLAMABAD: Minister for Privatization Daniyal Aziz Tuesday said international rating agency Standard and Poor’s latest report affirmed that the Pakistan’s government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had improved security situation, achieved economic stability and reduced energy shortages by new power projects.
Addressing a press conference here, he said the government had consolidated its economic gains and the international financial institutions had verified its achievements as evident from the report of Standard and Poor’s which declared Pakistan's economic outlook as stable.
The minister said the PML-N government took over in 2013, the economic situation was bad and there were reports that the country could default amid severe energy shortage and price hikes. It pursued a coordinated economic programme and successfully achieved fiscal stability, he added.
He said the Standard and Poor’s stated in its report that the burden of interest payments on loans was reduced and economic prospects of Pakistan were favourable. The rating agency also noted that the country's imports increased due to investment in the power sector and infrastructure projects, he added.
Daniyal said it was a major achievement of the government that it added 10,000 megawatts of electricity in four years as compared to only 15,000 megawatts in the last 70 years.
The minister said in another recent report, the World Bank declared Pakistan among the top five countries that received the highest private investment. Other top countries were Brazil, Indonesia, Jordan and China.
According to Euromonitor International, a market research group, he said, Pakistan was currently the world’s fastest growing retail market. That research showed the country as a growing retail market. Pakistan was ahead of countries like South Korea, India, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam, he added.
Daniyal pointed out that current inflation rate in the country was the lowest in many decades
He criticised Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan for trying to create chaos in the country for the last four years. Imran provoked people to burn electricity bills and stop payments to power companies, he alleged.
He said Imran Khan asked the people to use hawala and hundi system for transfer of money from Pakistan and also instigated them to launch civil disobedience. He also attacked the Parliament and Prime Minister House but later his allegations of rigging in elections were rejected by the judicial commission, he recalled.
The minister said negative tactics of Imran Khan led to delay in the start of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) by a year and negatively affected the economy and shatter the confidence of foreign investors.
He said the name of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was not included in the Panama Papers but even then a reference was filed against him. The court's order for freezing assets of Ishaq Dar was just an eye-wash as seven out of three of his bank accounts had been dormant for many years, while the properties and cars mentioned in the order had also been sold years ago.
He said steps were being taken in preparation for the next elections as the election law was enacted while delimitation of constituencies would also be done through an act of parliament.
The minister said former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was disqualified on the basis of a definition of assets which even did not exist in any edition of Black Law Dictionary. It was stated in the court decision that the non-receivable salary of Nawaz Sharif was an asset, therefore he was disqualified, he added.
Daniyal claimed that haste was shown in the case of Nawaz Sharif but the decision against Imran Khan was delayed. Imran was a proclaimed offender in a case registered against him under sections of anti-terrorism law, he added.
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