By Asad Cheema
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar on Sunday said that the petroleum price was decreased by five rupees per litre and soon the prices of other products related to industry would witness a decline. ‘Prices of commodities like onion, tomatoes and flour have already witnessed a sharp decline,’ he said while talking to media.
The minister said that the incumbent government-led by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) faced severe economic issues when it came to power and had to take strict decisions despite their reluctance. ‘If we have had not taken those decisions then the situation could be more than worst,’ he said and added that they have brought the economy out of the intensive care unit and soon it would witness growth.
Azhar said that their top priority is to develop under privileged areas of the country that were once neglected. ‘Earlier billions of rupees were diverted towards projects in developed areas for facilitating the privileged class,’ he said. Speaking over bringing the country out of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, the minister said that Pakistan was placed on the list in February 2018 and since after coming into power they were able to implement on the 14 points of the 28-point implementation plan from the anti-money laundering body.
He said that currently, the State Bank of Pakistan is independent in its working in contrast to the past and the decision has yielded positive results for them. ‘The inflation has witnessed a decline and if this continues then the interest rate could also come down,’ the minister said.
Hammad Azhar lamented the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and said that despite their mantra that the government could not tackle the economic issues, the PTI-led government has successfully bring improvements on the economic front. ‘Their tenure to rule has now gone as PTI will now rule for decades owing to its public-friendly policies,’ he claimed.
The minister also credited Prime Minister Imran Khan for successful signing of deal between the United States (US) and Taliban, saying that it was the victory of the 10-year old narrative of the premier.
He further negated the impression of government influencing the NAB authorities and said that it is an independent institution and takes decisions on its own.
