Rupee devaluation contained, power crisis to be solved via privatisation: Miftah Ismail

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Miftah Ismail has said what we were to do about the devaluation of rupee, we have done, and now the rupee value is stable.

In an interview with a private TV channel, Miftah said that the rupee has depreciated against the dollarĀ in the last few days.

The main reason behind this depreciation was that exports registered a decline, and imports kept on rising during the last 3 years. Therefore, Pakistan’s trade deficit had surged. Due to the high value of the dollar against the rupee, the local industry was also suffering.

He observed that although the present government’s tenure was soon coming to an end, it will still present its full budget for the next financial year. ā€œI have talked to PTI and PPP leaders through the National Assembly speaker, and we have agreed on presenting the full budget, he added.

He said that not only will the federal budget be presented, but provincial governments will also present their budgets. However, the government will not introduce any new projects in the budget.

Talking about the ongoing power crisis, he said that the government is striving to streamline operations by holding discussions with independent power producers.

Its durable solution lies in privatisation, he remarked. “If PML-N government comes to power again, we will try to privatise the distribution companies”, he added.

 

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