Daily Times

Federal Minister for Finance Asad Umar has vowed that the country was facing difficult times but development work will not be stopped.

The Finance Minister expressed his thoughts while inspecting construction of a double-crossing bridge at Tarnol’s GT Road here on Saturday.

“I am going to hold negotiations with International Monetary Fund (IMF) in next month,” he announced.

Umar clarified that the federal government was not cutting a single penny in funds allocated for the development projects initiated under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He reiterated, “We are going through difficult times but development work will not be stopped.”

The Finance Minister said that how resources could be generated when the government was facing Rs600 billion deficit on electricity and gas.

He criticised that the deficit money will not come from bank accounts of Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif.

It is pertinent to mention here that the government’s policy measures had resulted in shrinking of trade deficit, decline in imports and increase in exports which augurs well for overall balance of payment of the country.

The trade deficit that stood at US$ 17.7 Billion in July- December 2017 has shrunk by 5 per cent to US$16.8 billion in the corresponding period in 2018, the Press Information Department had reported on January 11.

Commenting over Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Asia Pacific Group’s move, Umar said that India has attempted many time to put Pakistan into blacklist.

The finance minister said Pakistan was implementing the action plan given by the FATF and pursuing it rigorously.

Earlier on March 9, Pakistan had raised an objection over India’s inclusion in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Asia Pacific Group.

Finance Minister Asad Umar, in this regard, has written a letter to the FATF registering Pakistan’s protest on the latest member induction.

The FATF had placed Pakistan on a money laundering “grey list” early in 2018 but had given it time to take action against a further downgrade.