The Finance Division on Tuesday issued a strong rebuttal against rumors circulating on social media over the government considering proposals to impose an economic emergency, stressing that there were no such plans in place.
“The message is unfortunately aimed at creating uncertainty about the economic situation in the country and can only [have been] spread by those who do not want to see Pakistan prosper,” it said, adding that the creation and spread of such fake news was “against the national interest” during times of economic hardship.
“A mere reading of the nine points mentioned in the message indicates how far-fetched those suggestions are,” it said, adding that it was “inappropriate” to equate Pakistan’s situation with Sri Lanka as the national economy was stronger and more diverse than that of Colombo. “The present difficult economic situation is mainly the result of exogenous factors like commodity super-cycle, Russia-Ukraine war, global recession, trade headwinds, Fed’s increase in police rates and devastation wreaked by unprecedented floods,” it said.
Emphasizing that the government was working to minimize the impact of such external factors, it said authorities remained committed to completing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program while meeting all external debt repayments on time.
“In this challenging economic situation, the government has put in place a number of austerity measures with the approval of the federal cabinet,” it said, noting these were all public knowledge and targeted non-essential expenditures. Similarly, it said, energy conservation plans to reduce the import bill were also under consideration, adding that nothing would be implemented without consultations with all stakeholders.
“With the efforts of the current government, the IMF program has come back on track and negotiations leading to 9th review are now at an advanced stage,” it said. The Finance Division also noted that the government’s recent efforts had reduced the current account deficit and helped achieve Federal Board of Revenue targets. “Easing up of pressure on external account is also foreseen in the near future,” it said, while acknowledging the need to make “structural adjustments” in the mid-term.
“[The] Finance Division urges the people of Pakistan to contribute toward economic betterment and stability and not to pay heed to malicious rumors mongering, which is against the national interest of Pakistan,” it added.