(January 09-2023)The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Monday said the removal of former finance minister Miftah Ismail from office was a wrong decision and giving Ishaq Dollar the portfolio of the finance ministry turned out to be an even bigger blunder.
Had Miftah Ismail was not removed, the IMF program would have been on track and the tranche would have been received in September last year, it said.
Miftah took tough decisions to save the country and the economy would not have nosedived nor inflation would have broken all records if he was not removed, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President of PEW.
He said that the policies of the former finance minister would have strengthened the rupee, reduced inflation, and millions of workers would not have been unemployed due to the closure of industries.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that the majority of the local business community, foreign investors and international organizations were happy with Miftah Ismail’s policies. Still, a campaign was launched against him for six months which ended in his removal.
People were told that after the removal of Miftah, the dollar would drop to one hundred and sixty rupees, which is now available at almost Rs160, wreaking havoc with the masses and economy.
He said that the masses were also assured that the new finance minister will make fuel cheaper, there would be little inflation, and everything would be fine which turned out to be a deception.
Presently, the current Finance Minister seems to be in the background and the Prime Minister himself has to give assurances to the IMF regarding the acceptance of all conditions.
The move of the PM shows that there are divisions in the government over important issues and that he has realized the gravity of the situation to some extent.
Satisfying the IMF will be difficult as this important institution has repeatedly reneged on in the past twelve months, he observed.
Dr. Mughal said that it is impossible to run the country without the IMF’s loans, but the top government officials continue to make statements against the lender, which is amazing.
