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| On Wednesday, Ishaq Dar, the finance minister, addresses the media outside the finance ministry. |
ISLAMABAD: In order to revive the economy, Ishaq Dar, the recently sworn-in finance minister, said on Wednesday that strengthening the value of the rupee would be his top priority, followed by lowering inflation and interest rates.
The fourth time Finance and Revenue Minister said no one would be permitted to manipulate the exchange rate while speaking to journalists outside the ministry office after taking the oath of office.
He added that he was aware that some speculators were playing this game and advised them to stop right away, saying, "This is not the right place where the rupee stands at the moment." He expressed his happiness at the fact that speculators had already made corrections in just two days and that the value of the rupee had increased, reducing the debt by billions of rupees. "The investors should choose the appropriate course of action. My top priority is to increase the value of the rupee. Then, in order to revive the economy, we must lower interest rates and reduce inflation.
He claimed that there were guidelines for how central banks could intervene in the market across the globe. In response to a query, he stated that the claim that the PML-N government burned money in the market to control exchange rates was a big lie. He remarked, "There were no dollars; how could one throw dollars."
He Said:
Unveils plan to strengthen rupee, bring down inflation and interest rates; blames Imran for economic crisis
According to Mr. Dar, the PTI government's manipulation of the value of Pakistani currency over the past four years has caused inflation, which has raised interest rates. According to him, Miftah Ismail's predecessor put a lot of effort into things based on his experience, but the economic conditions couldn't be improved in such a short period of time after four years of destruction. He claimed that "he did everything he could to ensure that the country moved away from default" and added that he would build on those achievements with teamwork.
"Pakistan is currently experiencing the worst economic conditions in its history as a result of four years of mismanagement under the government of Imran Khan," he said, adding that what Mr. Khan had done to the country could not even have been done by Pakistan's enemies.
The finance minister claimed that the PML-N government, led by Nawaz Sharif, had led the nation out of crisis following the nuclear tests of 1998 and again in 2013, when Pakistan was labelled as a "macroeconomic unstable country," and had put it on a course that would see it become the 18th-largest economy by 2030, according to international organisations.
"We made an effort to cut this time frame by four to five years. Because of the Panama(Papers) drama and similar other tactics, and the country had to pay a very heavy price, Pakistan would have been ahead of Italy and Canada by 2025–2026 at number 18 instead of 54th place where it currently stands. He added that the country, despite three sit-ins, recorded 6.3pc growth rate, 4pc rate of inflation, 2pc food inflation, a stable rupee, low interest rates, and highest revenue before the PML-N tenure came.
Mr. Dar claimed that Mr. Khan ruined the nation not only during his four years in office but also when he disregarded sovereign agreements he had made with international organisations in order to gain political advantage by fooling the populace into believing he was looking out for their interests while boasting to his colleagues about successfully planting landmines.
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