‘If IMF demands met, inflation rate feared to touch 30% in 2023’

ISLAMABAD (INP): The President of Pakistan Business Forum (PBF), Mian Usman Zulfiqar has said that the government is likely to meet all IMF demands to revive loan programme and in result new taxes would impose on the industry and masses, depreciation of the currency which would further spike the inflation and annual inflation rate is also feared to touch 30 percent in 2023.
He said that despite that Pakistan should considering alternative options to tide over its economic crisis other than habitual option of IMF.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Mian Usman Zulfiqar said that unfortunately Pakistan’s formula for economic growth is as flawed as it gets: borrow foreign currency-denominated loans, build some large-scale infrastructure, get a minor growth spurt in the process, and wait until this growth spurt fades so we can repeat the process again.
Our economic failure is a symptom of our collective political choices. Once we can allocate political power more fairly, we can make better economic outcomes.
The PBF President said it’s high time to lower Pakistan’s debt, ensure a stable currency and promote business-friendly policies for foreign and domestic investors and that could be possible if we fix our currency for a period of few years at the rate of Rs 200, only borrowing from commercial banks for government expenditures, enhance our tax collections and ensure accountability with no bail out further to state owned enterprises and surprisingly we have a vibrant agriculture sector who have a potential to contribute five percent GDP growth annually.
Through this we could come from this ongoing economic meltdown. Similarly we should understand FDI will only be flourish if you have a stable currency in order to determined the profitability for the foreign investors.
That could be possible if we signing charter of economy for at least 20 years including to revive our strategic relations with United States too.
The PBF President also stressed to attain a balanced development in establishing united and fair society; stresses on to the growth with fair distribution enabling every Pakistani to participate in any principal economic activity.