Past ‘rulers’ using speech for political advantage: Zaidi

Former FBR chairman urges all to read ‘whole’ speech, listen to it

KARACHI:

Former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi has accused “rulers prior to 2018” of using his Wednesday’s speech about the economic situation of the country “for political advantage”, saying: “Of the half-an-hour presentation, only three minutes have been cherry-picked.”

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, the former FBR chairman said, “Yes, I said that with this constant current account & fiscal deficit there are issues of ‘bankruptcy’ & going concern but look at the solution.”

During his speech at the Hamdard University on Wednesday, Zaidi said, “The entity is bankrupt, and the shop is not a going concern. For a state, this is not a problem; restructuring will correct it, surgery is required.”

In his speech, a video clip of which was shared widely on social media, Zaidi said, “We keep saying that everything is good, the country is running well, we have achieved great success and we brought tabdeeli [change] but this is wrong. In my view, the country is, at the moment, bankrupt and not a going concern.

“It is better if you decide first that we have reached bankruptcy and we have to move forward compared to saying everything is running well and I will do this and that. These are all things to deceive the people.”

In a tweet, Zaidi claimed that his speech was being “misreported”.

“What I said was with a basis & conviction. I only want to say that whole speech is to [be] read and listened [to].

“Pakistan’s total foreign debt stood at over $115 billion while its current account deficit was between $5 billion to $8 billion.

“When we will be able to pay that debt? It is better to recognise the reality than living an illusion. We need to have a reality check.”

Zaidi also urged the media to stop misreporting his speech.