Daily Times

“This is not a national budget for a country facing a crisis. It squandered a huge opportunity to change priorities, like diverting resources to health as percentage of GDP. Instead of that it cut money for the provinces who run the social spending,” said PPP Parliamentary Leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman on Friday.

“As it stands this is not even a national budget. It’s a rolling accounting exercise led by the IMF. In four months they will be rolling the numbers again while firing people from jobs. Sadly, like this Government, it is a set failure that Covid-19 has masked; Pakistan’s public finances were in free fall even before the Covid-19 outbreak, Pakistan’s economy was struggling to stay afloat with high interest rates, massive devaluations, crony capital sweet subsidies and falling exports. Revenue, which likes at the heart of every economy, never met their own targets, with one FBR head after another going through revolving doors. The costs of maintaining such a government will be felt by many future generations of Pakistanis and the damage they are doing, or done before covid is incalculable,” she said.

“The data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics shows that the year-on-year inflation in January 2019 was 5.6%. Whereas, by January 2020, the percentage had spiked to 14.6%. It is a shocking record of the highest inflation surge in the world. This happened way before the coronavirus pandemic hit us,” she said.

“This debacle of no-holds-barred borrowing was also done before Covid-19. Total debt and liabilities of the country rose by Rs2.597 trillion in the period running from July 2019 to March 2020. The total is now at 102.6% of gross domestic product (GDP). PTI government during the first 13 months of its tenure has added almost 35% of the total debt that Pakistan had accumulated in the previous 71 years of its independence,” she added.

“Why is PTI government taking credit for the decline in Current Account Deficit (CAD)? The massive decline in the international oil prices, a major import item for the country accounted for the dip in our CAD. PTI government must state the correct facts. During PPP’s time in power, crude oil price was $147/barrel, yet the situation was nowhere close to what it is now,” she questioned.