According to newspaper reports, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has expressed his satisfaction on meeting the benchmark targets to qualify for the loan programme of the International Monetary Fund during the first half of the current fiscal year while the sixth review talks with the donor agency are scheduled to be held in the last week of January. As if subtly pointing out possibility of downward revision of the economic growth target, Dar welcomed international assistance, otherwise saying that the country has the ability to meet the economic challenges through domestic adjustments. On another note, he says that fiscal deficit stands at 2.4 percent for the first half of the current fiscal year, but operation against militants in the tribal areas and resettlement cost of the internally displaced people can add extra burden on the economy to challenge the annual growth target set for the entire fiscal year. He says that over Rs 110 billion will be spent on the security operation and Rs 35 billion on the rehabilitation of the displaced persons. However, he says that despite various hostile impacts on the economy, the government will not revise the economic growth target but is in contact with various donor agencies and friendly countries such as the United States, China and Japan to share the additional burden of expenditures. He also says that $532 million US assistance under the Kerry-Lugar programme will be issued after approval of the US congress and all the economic indicators are in positive domain and hopefully the government will achieve its GDP growth target of 5.1 percent for the year 2014-15.
The country’s forex reserves have crossed $15 billion — $6.9 billion with commercial banks and $10.3 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan — fulfilling the condition of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to get its membership. Dar also says that the revenue collection remained Rs 1162.4 billion during the first six months of the current year despite reduction in oil prices.
It is not for the first time but a routine of every hawk in the office of the finance minister to cajole the nation with a false hope of a bright future and promises of a better economy, but thing go topsy-turvy soon after a new government holds the office. The oil prices have brought respite for the people of the country, but the government is dying in harness of revenue loss in terms of taxes and duties on the oil imports.
Finding solutions to the chronic problems of the economy in foreign loans will bring more troubles for the nation than relief. It is hoped that common sense will prevail and the financial hawks of the government will come up with a better decision than delusion.
