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KARACHI: Miftah Ismail, a former finance minister, stated on Monday that he fears default if Pakistan does not contact the IMF at this critical juncture.
He presented his ideas during a two-day international conference that NED University’s Economics and Management Sciences Department organized.
For the first three years that we participated in the IMF program, he claimed, “We were protected.” Then he continued: “We artificially stabilized the rupee, so imports surged significantly in the first two years but exports could not be enhanced.”
Miftah cited some significant numbers, saying that last year’s exports totaled $31 billion and remittances were $30 billion. He stated that overall income was $61 billion and cost climbed to $80 billion, citing a $19 billion discrepancy between the two.
According to the former finance minister, “CPEC is the guarantor of the country’s economic progress,” adding that the businesses invested in Pakistan after receiving loans from the government.
