Shehbaz terms economic growth figures wrong

Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif has claimed that the government is presenting wrong statistics about economic growth and misinforming the public since the start of its tenure. “The government’s statistics [regarding the budget] have already become a subject of debate,” Shehbaz said while addressing a virtual seminar attended by PML-N budget analysts on Thursday. “Their past is evident and they have been putting forth forged figures,” he said. “This comes on top of the government’s worst performance and major failures.” The PML-N chief further stated, “We will present a joint stance after holding consultation with all the parties in the parliament.” Earlier on Sunday, addressing the nation live, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the opposition parties were complaining about the government misleading the nation on the economy as they had not expected it to achieve a growth rate of nearly 4 percent. “The economic growth rate has baffled political opponents who wanted the government to fail in meeting these challenges left behind by our predecessors,” he added. The premier added the country’s projected growth rate at more than 4 percent would spur economic activities in the country, providing job opportunities and reducing price hike. “Pakistan will continue to achieve economic growth in the days to come as a process is gradual and will take time,” he claimed.