‘Big decision regarding economic situation likely on Friday’

ISLAMABAD: Former chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Shabbar Zaidi said Monday that a ‘big decision’ regarding the economic situation is likely to be made on Friday, ARY News reported.

While talking to the ARY News programme ‘The Reporters’, Shabbar Zaidi said that the country would not even spend one week in the prevailing economic crisis.

He alleged that a ‘dangerous’ deadlock was created between the incumbent government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He claimed that IMF was thinking about holding talks with a caretaker government in March it will not hold negotiations with the current government if it continues till March.

Zaidi said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar failed to find a temporary solution to bring down the US dollar price. He said that two different prices of the US dollar in the interbank and open market are causing troubles.

He said that Pakistan has to repay around Rs8.5 billion in debts but the national exchequer is empty.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) decided to issue a white paper on the country’s ‘deteriorating’ economy and human rights violations.

The PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry announced that his party has decided to issue a white paper on the country’s ‘deteriorating’ economy and human rights violations.

Lambasting the government over ‘flawed’ policies, the former information minister pointed out that essential items and energy have become extremely expensive in the country. “Inflation and unemployment are increasing rapidly under the incumbent government’s rule,” he added.

“A bag of 20 kg flour has reached Rs2,500 in Karachi,” he said, adding that if the government accepts conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the dollar would further increase.

He also lambasted the government over recent terror attacks in the country, noting that almost eight terror incidents were reported in Balochistan a day earlier. “At least 270 people were martyred while over 500 were injured in recent attacks,” he added.