Inflation can’t be reduced with pressers, tweets: Zubair

KARACHI: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s central leader and former governor Sindh Mohammad Zubair on Thursday said Finance Minister Hammad Azhar has claimed major economic stability in the country but inflation could not be reduced from press conferences and tweets. He was addressing a press conference at the Muslim League House, Karsaz, to respond to Azhar’s press conference on Wednesday. PML-N Sindh leader Khwaja Tariq Nazeer and other leaders accompanied him.

Zubair, who is also spokesperson of party supremo Nawaz Sharif, said the new budget is coming but it is not known who will be the finance minister by then. He said the incompetent government, so far, has changed three finance ministers, four finance secretaries, and five FBR chairmen. “Everyone is laughing at the prime minister's words. It does not seem that he is talking about Pakistan,” he said, adding “The people’s income is reducing, inflation is on the rise and every new day is becoming difficult.”

He said the prime minister, who used to claim to have the best economic team, has repeatedly been changing it. “Different economic goals come up every month. It is not a matter of pride to push one and a half crore people below the poverty line and increase the awareness programme,” he said.

“For the first time in the history of Pakistan, the growth rate was negative last year,” Zubair said, adding “There were three wars in Pakistan, East Pakistan was separated, and major crises came but the growth rate was not negative at that difficult times,” he said.

The PML-N leader said it is necessary to analyse the economic data provided by the government. “In the latest surveys, people have given importance to inflation, poverty, and unemployment,” he said, adding the most important thing for the people of Pakistan is the economy.

He said that prime minister Khan’s ministers and advisers claimed to have reduced the current account.

Zubair said five ministers have said that Maryam Nawaz is going to London. “She is not going anywhere but all the ministers are afraid of her.”