ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday rejected the government’s recently released Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26, calling it a politically motivated document that misrepresents the country’s economic situation.
In a statement, PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram described the survey as “a masterpiece of statistical manipulation” and accused the coalition government of ignoring the economic hardships faced by ordinary Pakistanis.
“This document is not an Economic Survey. It is an anti-poor manifesto wrapped in fancy tables and self-congratulatory claims,” he said.
The survey reports a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.7 percent for the year, a figure Akram said falls short of the 6.5 percent growth achieved during the PTI government under former prime minister Imran Khan.
He also questioned the reported increase in per capita income from USD1,700 to USD1,901, calling the methodology “opaque” and the data “economic gas lighting.”
Akram criticised the government’s agriculture growth figures, which the survey cites at 2.89 percent, arguing that they are heavily dependent on livestock estimates that may be “unverifiable.”
He also dismissed claims of 6.1% growth in large-scale manufacturing, citing factory closures, industrial shutdowns, and a decline in investor confidence.
He also accused the government of taking credit for programs introduced under the PTI, including the Roshan Digital Account and Naya Pakistan Certificates.
Debt management was another point of criticism. Akram highlighted that although the government reports 45 percent of debt as concessional, debt servicing has reached nearly Rs8,000 billion, with projections for the next fiscal year close to Rs7,824 billion. He said much of the borrowing is domestic and burdens ordinary households.
He also disputed the survey’s inflation narrative. While the report states that consumer price index (CPI) inflation remained broadly stable at 6.2-6.7 percent from July to April FY26, he noted that May 2026 saw inflation surge to 11.7 percent year-on-year, the highest since June 2024, largely due to rising food, energy, and transport costs.
“This Economic Survey is a declaration of war on the poor,” he said. “While elites celebrate manipulated Debt-to-GDP ratios and reported growth, ordinary Pakistanis face rising prices, unemployment, and shrinking livelihoods.”
PTI called for transparent and verifiable economic data using consistent baselines, including figures from the PTI era, and rejected the survey as a document designed to mislead both the public and international stakeholders.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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