LAHORE: Minister of State for Finance and Revenue, Dr. Aisha Ghaus Pasha Tuesday said the country is not only facing an economic crisis but our society is also suffering from polarization. “We are in the IMF program,” she said and added that the IMF says first bring your house in order.

She was addressing the conference on “Evolution of Social, Economic, Political Order Past, Present and Future of Pakistan: and its Impact on Creation of Enabling Business Environment” organized by Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

She also said that environmental changes have become a global issue. She said that Pakistan is out of crisis now adding that Pakistan was in crisis few months ago. She said that our spending is higher than our income, exports are low and imports are high. We have to overcome these shortcomings. She said that the volume of remittances is more than $ 30 billion but tax revenue is not increasing. “These things cannot go on like this for long," Aisha Ghaus Pasha added.

She said that we have to increase exports and reduce imports to bridge huge gap. She also called for the development of agriculture sector. She said that all the segments of society should join hands for the help of flood victims. Two million houses have been destroyed in floods while one million cattle have been killed. Senator Raza Rabbani said that without political stabilization Pakistan cannot come out of the clutches of IMF.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022