SBP report a dossier on PTI govt failure, economy destruction: PML-N

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Secretary Information Marriyum Aurangzeb has said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) latest report is a dossier on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s failure and destruction of national economy. In a press conference at the PML-N Lahore secretariat, she said pathological liar Imran and his failed government had the audacity to say that the report reflected economic revival when it actually was damning evidence of how badly the national economy was doing. She said the PTI government brought the GDP crashing down from 5.8 to 1.9 in their first year, and for the first time since 1952, the GDP growth rate of year 2019-2020 had been minus 0.4. This growth rate is the key indicator of economic health of the country, she added.

Fractionally resuscitating of the drowned economy was not revival, she said. The truth is that after crashing it from 5.8, the government failed to add even a single per cent to that plummeted growth rate.

The inflation, she said, according to the report, was 3.9pc during the PML-N government, which was now around 13pc, while the food inflation in urban areas is 14.6pc and in rural areas 16.4pc. Which means the low income groups have no money for healthcare, electricity, gas, children’s schools, house rents and transport, they can barely afford to feed themselves, she said.

About employment, she said when a country’s GDP is between 5 and 6pc, it adds 1.6pc of its population to its labour force. But this government has plummeted the GDP which has forced 4 million people into joblessness while over 10.4 million into abject poverty.

About budget deficit, Marriyum said it was PTI’s favourite topic during its container sloganeering. She said during the last year of PML-N government, the budget deficit was 6.5pc, while in the first year of PTI it was 9.1pc.

She said there has been a historic increase in public debt and added that the PML-N had Rs10,661 billion public debt in five years, while in just two years, the PTI government topped that and added Rs11,444 billion to the public debt. The total external debt too jumped by 33.4pc under PTI rule’s first year and on top of that 33.4pc it added 45pc more in its second year, which amounts to around Rs14,000 billion.

About PTI’s failure to meet its tax collection targets, she said the PTI government had not been able to increase tax collection in real term by a single rupee. She pointed out that despite 40pc devaluation and 13pc inflation, the PTI government collected only Rs3,950 billion, out of Rs5,555 billion, and later set the targte at Rs4,300 billion.

The former information minister said the PTI claimed that it would improve exports, but the truth is that the last year of PML-N government saw exports of Rs24.7 billion, but under the selected government, those tumbled to just Rs1.8 billion.

“With all these damning statistics by the State Bank, the claims of economic revival and appreciation are not just lies and ridiculous but an insult to this nation’s intelligence. The only thing recovering and appreciating are the bank accounts and lifestyles of Imran’s ATM machines and all those who are benefactors of 23 illegal foreign funding accounts. Imran did give jobs, they were not for the people of Pakistan but for his friends, who are looting the country,” she alleged.

Marriyum said this is the reason PML-N president and National Assembly opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif is behind the bars because Imran fears being called out on this corruption and embezzlement by the opposition leader.

She said the selected Imran and his imposed government did not have the capacity, ability, intelligence or the blessing of God Almighty to fix the disaster they had brought to the country.

The people Pakistan know very well now who brought prosperity in the past and who would do it again.