ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Monday while spelling out the root cause behind the current skyrocketing inflation in Pakistan has said that due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the economic policies of the former government the inflation was going up.

Talking to the media here, he said that owing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the prices of commodities across the globe have gone up and Pakistan was not an exception.

He further blamed the ill economic policies of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for inflation. The minister said that when in April 2022 the present government took over the affairs there was nothing to spend on developmental projects.

He said that this year the nation was going to celebrate the completion of 75 years of the country and at this juncture, Pakistan should not be in the current state of crisis.

While underlining the need for collaborative efforts to put the country’s economy on the right track, he said that Pakistan has the potential to be a member of top 20 global economies.

He said that his ministry is to organize Turnaround Conference on Tuesday (today) aiming to find solutions to the country’s current economic issues which will be attended by all the stakeholders.

He said private sector plays a key role in the national economy and the government wanted to remove all the obstacles faced by the private sector. He said that under the long-term agenda of the Turnaround Pakistan Conference, the Planning Ministry wants to work with prominent Pakistanis to formulate an agenda for the revival of the national economy consisting of three to four steps.

He said that value addition in the agriculture sector was a must to earn foreign exchange and to do so, the country needs a consistent long-term plan and policy.

The minister said the conference will provide a platform to academia, experts, and other stakeholders to devise short-term plan for the betterment of the country’s economy.

He said during the conference three short-term plans will be finalised to pursue the government’s agenda of development.

Iqbal said the government is striving to achieve the objectives of Vision 2025 that was set aside by the previous government. He also appreciated the role of overseas experts and youth who is participating in the conference.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022