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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has congratulated the government on achieving Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 5.37% in the fiscal year 2020-21.

In a statement, the prime minister the GDP growth rate lead to ‘substantial jobs creation and rise in per capita’. He said the economic reforms were successful and recognised internationally, adding that it has been predicted that Pakistan will sustain high economic growth and employment levels.

I want to congratulate my govt on achieving GDP growth of 5.37% in 3 yrs leading to substantial jobs creation & rise in per capita income. Our econ reforms success recognised internationally. Bloomberg predicted Pak will sustain high growth trajectory & employment levels. pic.twitter.com/zC0oXGKr8M

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) January 21, 2022

Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said the National Accounts Committee (NAC) had approved the revised Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 5.37 percent for fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21).

“This is the 2nd highest growth in last 14 years,” he said in his tweet. “The higher growth versus provisional estimates which were based on Jul-Mar numbers, was mainly due to very strong industrial growth in Apr-Jun,” he added.

The minister highlighted that the provisional growth estimates were based on the data of July-March 2020-21 whereas the revised growth rate of 5.37 percent was mainly due to the very strong industrial growth in April-June 2020-21.

As per the government’s provisional figures released earlier for the year 2020-21, the country’s GDP growth rate was 3.94%. National Accounts Committee works under the ministry of planning and development and provides a set of statistical data for the purpose of economic analysis, decision taking and policymaking.

It is widely used as indicator of economic activity and measures the performance of the economy and other important parameters such as GDP/GNI, Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), Savings, and Inflation.

Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar expressed the hope that national economy would grow at 5.4 percent during the current fiscal year. The minister said there was good news for national economy as it registered a growth of 5.37 percent during the last year against the projected 3.9 percent growth.

The national economy did not only register sustainable growth but also the country’s exports, remittance and foreign reserves witnessed an upward increase during the said period, he said.

He expressed hope that the country’s exports would not only cross $30 billion mark but also the foreign remittance would also remain above $30 billion during the current fiscal year. He said that $10-11 billion debt has also returned besides curtailing flow of circular debt to Rs130 billion during last year.

He said the PTI government not only achieved 5.37 percent growth during its third year of rule but also the current account deficit remained below $2 billion. The foreign remittance witnessed sharp increase and the revenue collection also registered 35 percent increased during the last year, he added.

He said the government had to take “tough decisions” to stabilise the economy. Owing to the government’s prudent policies the country’s reserves, exports witnessed an increase and international rating agencies upgraded Pakistan’s economic outlook, he added.

Hammad said the agriculture sector registered 3.5 percent, large scale industry 7.8 percent and the services sector 5.8 percent increase during the said period. He said the PTI government inherited a fragile and weak economy. However, the incumbent government not only put the economy on right track but also achieved all financial targets despite numerous challenges included COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister said prices of various commodities witnessed increase at international market resulting inflation which was also a challenge for us. Inflation has affected the middle class and the government would provide relief to the salaried class.