Pakistan's Finance Minister reveals Economic Survey 2022-23

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday unveiled Pakistan Economic Survey 2022-23, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.

Dawn is a Pakistani English-language newspaper.

The minister while unveiling the survey, spoke less about the dismal performance of various sectors of the Pakistani economy and more on the global environment and economic fundamentals the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government had inherited when it came to power in April last year.

The Pakistan Finance Minister accompanied by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Aisha Ghous Pasha unveiled that the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the fiscal year 2023, projected to grow at five per cent, only managed 0.3 per cent growth, with agriculture and services scraping along with 1.5 per cent and 0.86 per cent growth and the industrial sector contracting by a worrying three per cent.

Dar while referring to the previous Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) regime, complained that "the [political] project, conceived in 2010, flourished in 2018, and reached its culmination in 2022," but, in the process, "put the country in reverse gear".

He complained that the Pakistan economy which was believed to be primed for G-20 membership within a few years had lost its standing due to the PTI.

"We now have to resume development from where it was left off in 2017; with an inclusive and resilient growth trajectory that is sustainable, builds investor confidence and ends current market nervousness," the finance minister said, as per Dawn.

The Pakistan Finance Minister also previewed the budget for the next fiscal year, to be unveiled today (Friday).

He revealed that the federal Public Sector Development Programme would be enhanced to Rs 1.15 trillion in fiscal 2023-24, which would be augmented by another Rs 1.6tr through provincial development programmes. He said this spending would help boost GDP growth in the new year, according to Dawn.