ISLAMABAD: The government has started taking measures to stabilise economy, and inflows and outflows of foreign exchange were now “balanced”.

This was said by the Minister for Power, Khurram Dastgir. He said that circular debt had been reduced by Rs214 billion over the last three months. He said inflows were expected in the coming days as a staff-level agreement had been reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would eventually stabilise the rupee and bring the balance-of-payments crisis to an end.

“And by September or October, Pakistanis will also see that inflation will start decreasing,” he said.

Addressing a news conference along with Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik in Islamabad on Thursday, he said we are addressing pending issues in the power sector.

He said that the PML-N-led coalition government’s commitment to stabilise Pakistan’s economy and to prevent the effects of an “international energy crisis” from manifesting in the country was clear as petroleum product reserves were at a “record level”.

While comparing Pakistan with another country in the region that is facing economic difficulties, he said that uninterrupted power supply is being ensured to the industrial sector so that there is no impact on the livelihoods of the people.

He further said that a comprehensive solar policy will be announced next month with an aim to enable the people to shift to solar energy and reduce dependence on the imported fuel.

Dastgir assured there will be no increase in the power prices for the consumers using up to one hundred units per month. He said there is also a subsidy plan for the consumers using up to two hundred units.

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Minister of State for Petroleum Malik said record reserves of petrol and diesel are available in the country.

He pointed out that there has also been a reduction in the usage of petrol and diesel during the months of June and July this year compared to the same period of last year. He said that it happened because of our effective management which will help reduce our import bill and stabilize the rupee.

Malik said imports of petroleum products between June 2021 and June 2022 had reduced by around 9%.

“This has significantly reduced our import bill,” he said, adding that the government was expecting further improvement on this front in July.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022