Pakistan aims at export-led growth to ensure sustainability

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said the government was striving for an export-led growth in the country as the growth fuelled by consumption instead of investments was not sustainable and durable.

"We want quality growth which is led by growth in exports and investments and not driven by mere consumption, which was a pattern in the previous government," he said while talking to Dr Christian Turner, British High Commissioner to Pakistan who called on the adviser here at the Finance Division.

Shaikh welcomed the gesture of the British government in changing its travel advisory for Pakistan and showing interest in further strengthening bilateral ties in trade and investment.

He said the PTI government was also pursuing a broad-based economic reforms agenda by reducing interventions in the market and promoting privatisation process which had been neglected in the last 14 years.

He said the government had cut its civil budget by Rs 40 billion while the defence budget had also been reduced in nominal terms. He said the government had not borrowed a single rupee in the last six months from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The adviser further told the

British envoy that the government was also taking corrective measures to minimise the effects of inflation by doubling the budget for social safety net, subsidizing gas and power utilities and further revamping and improving its multi-billion cash transfer programme to protect the poor segment of population from the price-hike.

He said the government had done a lot of work in bringing back macroeconomic stability to the economy and a platform had been provided for further economic growth.

"This was no easy work as tough decisions were taken to overcome the challenges on the external front, particularly in controlling the current account deficit, and the efforts had resulted in primary balance becoming surplus for the first time in many years," he added.

The adviser also spoke of Pakistan's exports which had started showing an upward trend after having remained stagnant for almost five years. He said the revenue collection had jumped by nearly 16 per cent while foreign direct investment and portfolio investment had also gone up manifold.

He said the government had reduced the circular debt in the power sector from nearly Rs 30 billion a month to Rs 1012 billion a month.

He said the prices of electricity were on the higher because of the failure of previous government for not increasing the electricity prices in its last 18 months.