ISLAMABAD: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Chairman Coordination Malik Sohail Hussain on Saturday said that the PML-N led government borrowed over Rs44 billion during its tenure, which sets a new record.
Hussain said that despite borrowing at such a massive scale the standard of living of the masses or the economy could not be improved. Now, the country is at the brink of bankruptcy as it was in 2013 when the PML-N came to power, he added.
Malik Sohail Hussain said that the former government continued to beat the drums of success but the forex reserves continue to fall necessitating another bailout package on harsh conditions.
The former government increased debt by over 50 per cent while it weakened the local currency by almost 10 per cent increasing debt and putting additional pressure on the masses, he said.
The business leader said that energy imports reached almost 60 per cent of exports but the government failed to end load-shedding or settle circular debt which reached to new heights during its tenure.
Mismanagement in LNG deal inflicted heavy losses on exchequer and paved way for gas sector circular debt for the first time in the history of the country. The former prime minister and other government functionaries repeatedly claimed to have added over 11000 megawatts in the national grid but there is no place in the country which is immune from load-shedding, he observed.
He said that the government failed to fulfil promises of tackling unemployment, poverty, corruption, and profiteering. The PML-N also failed to introduce reforms in sectors like health, education, taxation, and provision of justice. Good governance, selling bleeding public sector entities, provincial harmony, reduction in debt, industrialization and developing agriculture remained a far cry.
The tax system could not be made friendly and nothing important could be achieved during the last five years set in the manifesto for the May 2013 election over the last five years’ rule, he said.
Malik Sohail said that the loans acquired by the former rulers will not be paid by the politicians but our future generations.
