Islamabad: Giving an overview of the government’s one-year performance, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan was facing multiple challenges on the diplomatic and economic front. He said medium-term framework and economic plan is being implemented under the Uraan Pakistan initiative to provide strong footings to the economy.
According to Radio Pakistan, Ishaq Dar said Pakistan has also come out of diplomatic isolation through its open foreign policy, as it has been elected a member of the UN Security Council with a thumping majority. Besides, Pakistan hosted the SCO conference and an international conference on girls’ education in Islamabad.
He said in 2018, Pakistan had become a terrorism-free country but due to poor border-management and the release of criminals by the previous government, terrorism has once again become a major challenge in the country. He said the government, in collaboration with the Pakistan Army, is putting up efforts to make the Azm-e-Istehkam initiative a success and eradicate terrorism from the country.
Highlighting achievements of his ministry, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan has made significant progress around macro-economic stability as well as a reduction in inflation. He said 52,000 new investors are coming to the Pakistan Stock Exchange. He said external debt is stable, debt to GDP is the lowest in five years, while the tax base increased to one hundred percent. He said global financial and rating agencies commended the performance of Pakistan’s economy.
On the energy side, Minister for Power Division Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari said an overall reduction in the electricity unit has been made which is around five rupees. He said his ministry has chalked out a detailed programme to end circular debt without burdening electricity consumers in the next few years.
Regarding the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Federal Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja informed that fifteen million broadband subscribers increased during last year, whereas the contribution of the telecom sector to the national exchequer was three hundred forty-one billion rupees. She said IT exports increased by twenty-seven percent.
Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has successfully foiled the nefarious designs of Pakistan’s foes, who intended to create chaos in the country. He said these elements time and again resorted to spreading anarchy and in order to achieve this objective they did not hesitate in inviting foreign powers to intervene to bring them back to power.