Former federal finance minister Shaukat Tarin has said that massive devaluation of PKR against the dollar has increased the country’s debt by Rs 4.5 trillion in a single day, adding that the rupee’s decline will increase inflation in the country.
While addressing a press conference along with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) General Secretary Asad Umar on Friday, Tarin said that the rupee depreciated Rs34 versus the dollar in one day, disproving the bold claims made by Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar who had said that “as I boarded the plane the rupee appreciated against the dollar and hence our loans declined by Rs 1200 billion”. “However, under his management, the rupee saw a steep decline in one day,” he added.
He claimed that the dollar was worth Rs 264 today compared to Rs 182 when they left the government. “The rupee’s depreciation will increase inflation in the country,” he added.
He said that Pakistan’s loans had increased by Rs 4.5 trillion in just two days. The PTI government was criticized for increasing loans by Rs 19 trillion in 40 months, which was also a result of the rupee’s depreciation, but at that time they (coalition parties) did not see the underlying rationale behind the increase.
Talking about the cause behind the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s reluctance to resume the program, the former federal minister said it has an objection over Pakistan’s budgetary problems; “the IMF was saying that our fiscal deficit stands at Rs 3.2 trillion while the government was talking about collecting taxes between Rs 200 and Rs 300 billion. To meet the deficit, the government has to levy more taxes on petrol, diesel, cigarettes and other items, and thus putting more financial burden on the people,” he added.
