Path to becoming Asian Tiger blocked: Iqbal

Says inconsistent economic policies hindering economic growth

PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s economic development is not marred by corruption but it is the political instability and inconsistent economic policies that have hindered economic growth, said Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal.

“If we had consistency in our economic policies, Pakistan would have emerged as the Asian tiger now, but it was never allowed to happen,” said Iqbal on Monday while opening the NADRA mega centre and executive Passport office in Tehkal.

NADRA Chairman Usman Yousaf Mobin and senior officials and staff members were also present at the inauguration.

“Pakistan has corrupt practices like any other country of the world, but we are being portrayed as more corrupt and have been maligned at the international level,” said Ahsan Iqbal in a reference to Chairman, Pakistan Tehrik-e- Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan.

The minister added that there is more corruption in regional countries, there is even more corruption in Bangladesh, as per Transparency International, but they are much ahead of us in economic development just because their governments are stable and had more consistent economic policies.



Ahsan Iqbal said that NADRA is not only a national entity but has become an international ambassador for Pakistan and now other countries are also taking benefits from its experience.

Criticising the PTI leadership, Ahsan Iqbal said that we were expecting the PTI will be a party of Justice and would raise the slogan of development and a positive change but it has even distorted the political scene and are deceiving the public while offering no developmental program or a political ideology.

“Whatever Imran is doing is not a democratic but a fascist style of politics,” accused Iqbal. “He has set a new trend in politics and thinking is being created that everyone in the country’s politics is Satan and corrupt,” he added.

This is not the spirit of democracy, we have to accept each other as our motive is the same; we want Pakistan to progress, said the minister. “Politics is not about name-calling, it is about your own ideology and programme,” he said.

Praising the economic policies of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), he said that the day when PML-N took over the government in 2013, the country’s economy was completely destroyed.



“Even a civil war was predicted in Pakistan over the issue of lack of energy in the country,” Iqbal claimed. “Today we are providing uninterrupted electricity to industries,” he said.

By May 18, we will be able to add 10,000 Megawatt of electricity to the national grid. It will be a new record, he claimed, as from 1947 to 2013; the country has produced only 16,000 MW of electricity.

Talking about the security situation, he said that in 2013, there was not even a single day when people would die in terrorist’s attack, especially in K-P where people have suffered the most.

“There has been 80 to 90 percent of reduction in the militancy in the country,” said the minister. “The APS tragedy has brought us all on the same page that is why we have and broken their [terrorists] backbone.”