Ex-finance minister Tarin lists previous govt’s achievements

Throws challenge to new administration, asking it to match performance

KARACHI:

Amid continuously deteriorating macroeconomic indicators of the country, like the depreciating rupee and depleting forex reserves, the former finance minister has highlighted the performance of his government, putting further pressure on the current administration.

On his official Twitter handle on Friday, former federal minister for finance and revenue Shaukat Tarin showcased the performance of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s government during the period July-March 2021-22 as a new coalition government ousted the PTI administration and took charge in April 2022.

He mentioned that during the July-March period of current fiscal year, the large-scale manufacturing (LSM) index posted a growth of 10.4%.

He also underlined that tax revenues jumped 29% during the nine-month period, when the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected Rs4.38 trillion.

Moreover, Tarin said, the country’s exports grew 26%, while remittances increased 7.6% during the July-March period.

The output of four major crops went up 7%, he said, adding that corporate profits soared 28%. During three years of PTI rule, around “5.5 million jobs were created”.

The country recorded a fiscal deficit of 4% of GDP (gross domestic product), he pointed out.

In the end, Tarin threw a challenge to the newly formed coalition government to match the aforesaid performance.