LAHORE: Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar and the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s leader and former finance minister Ishaq dar embroiled themselves in a twitter war on the state of economy.
The trigger of the clash was a tweet by a senior journalist Saleem Safi that kicked off the debate when Hammad Azhar defended his government’s economic policies.
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PTI’s Hammad while replying on Pakistan’s GDP growth forecast, tweeted: “If it was so simple than why Moody’s downgraded Pak economy when it was growing at 5pc and upgraded it now? Growth bubble based on highest ext deficits, depleting forex reserves took Pakistan near default and its economy in ICU. Let patient stabilise before expecting it to sprint.”
If it was so simple than why Moody’s downgraded Pak economy when it was growing at 5% & upgraded it now?
Growth bubble based on highest ext deficits, depleting forex reserves took Pakistan near Default & its economy in ICU.
Let patient stabilise before expecting it to sprint. https://t.co/T2pODaNa5R— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) February 4, 2020
تبدیلی سرکار جی ڈی پی گروتھ میں پاکستان کو جنگ زدہ افغانستان سے بھی نیچے لے آیا۔۔۔ تبدیلی پسند آئی؟ https://t.co/6pyKzmNw9B
— Saleem Safi (@SaleemKhanSafi) February 4, 2020
On that, PML-N’s economist and former finance minister Ishaq Dar jumped into the debate and assailed the the PTI government and Prime Minister Imran Khan for flawed economic policies.
. @SaleemKhanSafi, @Hammad_Azhar is an innocent member of the Imran Niazi’s economic team, having little idea of how the economy works. Tabdeeli Sarkar has interned a growing economy into ICU from day one, bringing down the Growth from 5.5% to 2.4% by administering doses… 1/4 https://t.co/5KgxiUQea0
— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) February 5, 2020
…of (1) 40% devaluation; (2)doubling interest(Policy) rate to 13.25%; (3)imposing new taxes of Rs750B (which was lied on the floor of the House by @Hammad_Azhar as Rs500B & for which he was promoted as full minister); (4)highest ever fiscal deficit of 8.9%GDP; (5)first… 2/4
— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) February 5, 2020
…time ever SBP’s hundreds of Billions rupees annual Profit converted to Loss; (6)sharpest increase in a decade of Inflation from 4% to 14.6%, with Food Inflation rising from 1.6% to 23.8.%. After wrecking people’s lives they are asking let the patient stabilize before it… 3/4
— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) February 5, 2020
In a series of tweets, Ishaq Dar maintained that current economic scenario “is all because of PTI’s gross negligence, mismanagement and sheer incompetence.”
