Daily Times

Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Reform & Statistics Division Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar on Wednesday said the previous government missed all targets set in 11th five year plan adding that the performance remained off-track during the plan period.

The minister was talking to a group of journalists here at the ministry. The Minister said that he had reviewed the performance indicators of 11th five year plan period (2013-18) with his economic team and found that targets of the plan were not achieved adding that credibility of the growth performance of the previous five years was also under scrutiny of the credible economists. The Minister gave details of the main targets missed in the previous plan, according to which, the average real GDP growth of 4.8 percent during the plan masked many inequalities like crop sector grew marginally by 0.6 percent in these five years which employs 38 percent of labour force.

The 5.8% growth in 2017-18 was based upon 6 months data and will be revised on the basis of full year data. One example is Large-Scale Manufacturing where growth was taken at 6.1% (7 months) that will be revised downward to actual full year growth of 5.2%.

The consumption was artificially boosted to uplift economic growth through fiscal expansion and easy monetary policy. The quantum of consumption in Pakistan at 93 percent of GDP is one of the highest among emerging economies whereas investment and savings are one of the lowest.

Published in Daily Times, January 17^th 2019.