Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal has hit out at speculation that Pakistan is going to default.
Talking to Geo News’ programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada kay Sath‘, he said, “Pakistan is not Africa’s banana republic. We have a large economy. Voices saying that the country is heading towards default shouldn’t come from inside of Pakistan.”
The federal minister said that when people were saying Pakistan is going to default in two weeks, the coalition government took tough decisions to pull the country out of danger.
He also took a jibe at the rival party— Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)— accusing the former ruling party of building the narrative that Pakistan is going to default.
“Even India is not speculating about Pakistan’s financial crisis but PTI and Imran Khan have launched a war against the country,” he pointed out.
The federal minister also claimed that 80 per cent of Pakistan’s total debt was taken during Imran Khan’s tenure, which the current government has to handle now.
He reiterated his government’s commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme but added that the administration is trying to minimise the burden on people as inflation is already at a historic high and Pakistan has just suffered a natural disaster that caused damages worth $30 billion.
