The Pakistan Businesses Forum (PBF) has predicted that 2023 is going to be a tough year for the economy. In 10 months incumbent government depreciated the rupee to Rs 89 against dollar which is unprecedented.
In a statement on Saturday, the PBF Vice President Ahmad Jawad said that Pakistan needs to find an alternative to International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He claimed that the political parties have no roadmap for the betterment of the economy. The government also needed to divide the burden of the current inflation, he added.
Ahmad Jawad said that the free float policy of the dollar is eating the country’s economy like a termite. He further said that after the general the new government will approach the IMF again because politicians always opt easier path.
“The country is currently in free fall. We have become a joke in front of other countries,” he added.
The business leader further asked how could unrealistic depreciation of the rupee could allowed, the depreciation will increase the inflation rate to 35pc, he added.
The abrupt devaluation of the rupee has already in less than one month added Rs 3.5 trillion to Pakistan’s total debt, he said.
The PBF official even stated Pakistan’s never been this close to default. Just a few days ago, the Pakistan rupee was at 231 to the US dollar. Now it’s at 277. With foreign exchange reserves of just $3.68 billion, Pakistan has barely enough to cover a few weeks of imports. Jawad says the economy has already “virtually collapsed” amid political upheaval.
PBF has also demanded that the agenda of the economy be included in the all-party conference called on the 7th of this month.
