Daily Times

The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Sunday said the decisions of the government are damaging the economy and disappointing masses.

The government seems to have no economic policy, vision or direction which is triggering uncertainty, it said.

The performance of the economic managers is very disappointing as the United States dollar jumped by Rs 18 in a short span adding to the unexplainable agony suffered by the masses, said PEW President Dr Murtaza Mughal said.

He said that the government has shaken the foundations of the economy, claims regarding improvement have failed and everything is getting costly by the passage of the day which will make the life of masses very difficult.

Murtaza Mughal said that devaluation and interest rate hike will result in the closure of thousands of businesses leaving over half a million people unemployed.

The government continued to take u-turns on several issues including borrowing from the International Monetary Fund which added to the uncertainty and damaged the economy.

He said that trade deficit has jumped to 7.5 percent in the last four months while foreign direct investment have been halved which indicate the incompetence of the economic managers who were once considered saviours by the masses.

He said that devaluation will increase the cost of all developmental projects including the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, stoke inflation, increase debt burden by Rs 750 billion, trigger flight of capital and speed up dollarisation of the economy.

The government has jumbled serious economic issues in a manner that business has become very difficult while new investment has become impossible, he said.

Published in Daily Times, December 3^rd 2018.