No chance of reduction in inflation for another three months: Pak FM

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Pakistan Federal Minister of Finance Shaukat Tarin has said that there will be no decline in the price-hike in the country for the next three months.

The News International reported quoting Tarin said that the prices have swelled all over the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic but Pakistan didn’t let its industries stop working.

“The prices hiked up to 90 per cent in the international market. Trade deficit increased due to the rise in oil prices while the Afghan crisis weighed down Pakistan’s currency,” Tarin said during a press conference in Islamabad at the Pak-China Centre on Wednesday.

He said the current account deficit would recede in the remaining months of the current fiscal year because the government had procured vaccines and there were no more requirements for importing wheat and sugar, The News International reported, adding him saying “The government had imported wheat and sugar to the tune of 1 billion USD.”

The Pakistan Minister hoped that the exports target of 31 billion USD and IT exports would fetch 3.5 billion USD during the current fiscal year. The remittances, he said, were going up by 11 per cent so far against the 29 per cent growth achieved in the last fiscal year, the media outlet said.

In early January, the country’s Finance Minister tabled the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021 also called as ‘mini-budget’ in the Senate amid protest from opposition members.

The bill seeks to amend certain laws on taxes and duties to meet the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) conditions for the clearance of Pakistan’s sixth review of the USD 6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) by the financial institution, paving way for the disbursement of a tranche of around USD 1 billion.

With the supplementary finance bill and the State of Bank of Pakistan Autonomy Bill, the Pakistan government aims to meet certain conditions set by the IMF.

Earlier, increasing inflation has forced the Pakistan government in deferring the approval of the Rs 360 billion mini-budget. (ANI)