Daily Times

The Ferozepur Road Industrial Association (FRIA) senior vice chairman Shahbaz Aslam has said that the economic and fiscal discipline of the country will be driven under the direction of IMF now, leaving little room for the government to make its way, which has not come up with any plan to fix the economy and provide relief to the trade and industry.

Higher inflation, rising utility tariffs, growing unemployment and, above all, the malaise and despondency among the masses are likely to continue unattended.

Economic vulnerability now looms with political uncertainty at its core. The Moody’s Investors Service has recently given a ‘credit negative’ signal to Pakistan in the face of prolonged political ambiguity and social tensions over election results, which will make it tough to approach the IMF for a new program, weaken external economy and make liquidity management more challenging. Shahbaz Aslam said that the privatization commission of Pakistan is struggling since months to effectively put in place the privatization of loss-making public sector enterprises; notably, the Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan International Airlines despite the urgency and concern expressed, time and again, by the IMF. The election held on Feb 8th in Pakistan threw up a number of surprises with a significant shift in the country’s political landscape.