Minister hopeful Pakistan will join growing economies as deal with IMF sealed

• Economy began recovering after deal with IMF, says Tarar.
• Minister says big chunk of revenue generated from Karachi.
• Chinese company to impart training to 300,000 students.

ISLAMABAD: After the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said efforts for economic rehabilitation were underway alongside further steps for country to join world's growing economies.

Tarar, while addressing a presser in New York on Wednesday, said the world was acknowledging Pakistan’s efforts towards economic recovery.

"Government's prudent policies are yielding positive results in the form of decline in inflation and stability in prices of daily commodities. Reforms are being implemented to augment economic growth and provide relief to people," said the minister.

Tarar's remarks, highlighting other measures taken by the government with regards to the country's economy, came after the Washington-based lender sealed the deal with Islamabad, approving Pakistan's loan with its first tranche of $1.1 billion likely to be released by September 30, 2024.

The interest rate on the loan is less than 5%, sources in the Ministry of Finance said, adding the IMF may disburse the second instalment within this fiscal year.

Meanwhile, Tarar claimed that all economic indicators in Pakistan are positive and the rate of inflation has slowed down. Statements, he added, about the drop in inflation were not imaginary, as prices of petroleum products and edible items had slumped significantly during the last few months.

"The government launched a crackdown on illegal money exchanges and prevented dollar smuggling,” he said.

Tarar acknowledged that a big chunk of the country’s revenue was generated from Karachi, therefore, justice [in terms of expenditures] should be served to the metropolis.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he said, highlighted the effects of the climate changes, which inflicted a loss of more than 30 billion dollars across the globe. The countries that emitted the most carbon had the resources in abundance, he maintained.

Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on September 15 praised the premier for bringing economic stability to the country. She had noted that the historic reduction in inflation from 38% to 9.6% was nothing short of a miracle.

“The decrease in the interest rate (policy rate) from 22% to 17.5% is proof of successful economic policies,” she had said.

Google to manufacture Chromebooks in Pakistan

Information Minister Tarar told the media that a Chinese mobile manufacturing company would impart training to 300,000 students in Pakistan, while Google had assured to increase its investment.

"Google will manufacture Chromebooks in Pakistan," he said.

Whereas, the Chinese mobile phone company was constructing "IT cities" in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, he added.

On the other hand, the government was going to introduce a ‘smartphone for all’ project, he said, adding discussion was ongoing with all the tech companies to boost IT export.

Minister slams policy of bringing Taliban back

Meanwhile, Tarar lambasted the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for bringing the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — now known as Khawarij — back to the country, while being termed "good people".

"The policy of bringing Taliban back was wrong, impacts of which can be witnessed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa now,” he said, pointing towards the rising number of terrorist attacks in the province.

The minister said the government would keep raising its voice against increasing terrorism from Afghnistan.

He also said terrorists and separatists were manipulating social media for their nefarious activities, which were a threat to Pakistan. 

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Munir Akram on September 18 apprised the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting that the terrorists enjoyed support of the Afghanistan’s interim government.

"Pakistan will continue the nationwide crackdown on Fitna al-Khawarij," Ambassador Akram had said.