- Abdul Hafeez Shaikh says efforts to not enable important items’ costs to rise was “a challenge” for the PTI authorities
- Govt subsidising the acquisition of important items to “help the weaker middle class”
- Notes {that a} $20-billion exterior deficit has now been was a surplus
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Sunday mentioned that controlling the costs of important items and never permitting them to rise was “a challenge” for the PTI authorities.
Talking to journalists, Hafeez Shaikh added that decreasing the taxes on imported items, too, has been “a challenge for [the PTI government]” however that it nonetheless subsidised important items to “help the weaker middle class”.
“When [Prime Minister] Imran Khan’s government came into power, the fiscal deficit was $20 billion,” he famous, including that exports have been subsequent to none underneath the previous management of the PML-N.
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The finance minister talked about {that a} $20-billion exterior deficit has now been was a surplus. The setting created because of the coronvairus pandemic additionally boosted Pakistan’s exports, he added.
Because the pandemic hit, the PTI regime launched a coverage to assist the weak teams within the nation that have been experiencing financial hardship by the Ehsaas Emergency Money Programme, the finances of which, Sheikh mentioned, was elevated by the federal government from Rs100 billion to Rs200 billion.
“The prime minister’s first priority is to stop the rise in prices,” he underscored however famous that it had been “a challenge” for the PTI authorities.
Speaking in regards to the Senate elections, he mentioned he wished for the polls to be clear. “Political parties are contesting the Senate elections and the polls should not be made personal,” he confused.