Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said on Saturday that economic problems increased due to current account deficit, while inflation ratio had been on the rise during the last five years.
He expressed these views while addressing a ‘Roundtable Conference on Economy’ here at Lahore School of Economics (LSE). Dean Dr. Azam Amjad Chaudhry also spoke at the conference.
The federal minister said that the current account deficit led to numerous economic problems, asserting that the previous government did not initiate any energy projects, though purchase of big vehicles continued.
He mentioned that the energy crisis started in Pakistan after 2007. He made it clear that prior to the present government, the Ministry of Finance had made an announcement that quarterly funds of budget were not being released.
Ahsan Iqbal recalled that despite sanctions on Pakistan due to nuclear tests, the then government had provided funds for developmental projects.
Pakistan had been facing problems due to political instability and economic policies could not flourish because of frequent political changes in Pakistan.
He observed that every succeeding government blamed the previous government for its failure because projects were not completed in its five-year term. He said that a country could develop only with political stability for at least 10 years.
The minister said that Pakistan had Thar coal reserve, which was a bigger treasure than oil of Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Thar coal could provide cheap energy, he said and added that Pakistan could also enhance its energy generation by optimum utilisation from other energy resources such as wind, hydel and solar.
Ahsan Iqbal said that privatisation in telecom sector led to economic growth in the country, adding, “We got a peace plan in the form of CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor), by which the country could increase its economic growth capacity.
The structure of the economy is not very strong; however, CPEC attracted the world towards Pakistan like a magnet,” he said and cited that around 100 Chinese companies had opened offices in Islamabad.
He was of the view that Pakistan had dropped the economic growth catch due to 1965 war and no economic planning could be done properly with frequent changes of governments.
Ahsan Iqbal said, “CPEC is not a catch for cricket but for football. CPEC is a game-changer, and we all must not missed this great opportunity.—APP
