Ishaq Dar assails critics of his strong rupee policy

Former finance minister Ishaq Dar criticised those who had been very critical of keeping the rupee stable during the PML-N government but are currently admitting that devaluation have caused economic problems.

In a tweet, Dar said the PML-N government had kept the rupee stable while also maintaining the lowest discount rate and inflation, but some people were unhappy with that. Back then, they were criticising the economic development all the time, he added.

جب #PMLN دور میں کم ترین ڈسکاؤنٹ ریٹ و مہنگائی کے ساتھ مستحکم روپیہ تھا تو کچھ لوگوں کو بڑی تکلیف ہوتی تھی۔ہر وقت معاشی ترقی کو تنقید کا نشانہ بناتے تھے۔اب ان کو یادآیا کہ ان چیزوں کےریورس ہونے سےکتنا بھاری نقصان ملک اٹھا رہاہے۔ایسی ڈرامہ بازیوں نے معیشت کو بے پناہ نقصان پہنچایا۔ https://t.co/rEvwA2xc5W

— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) May 12, 2020

But they have now realised how much losses the country is facing because of reversing those things, he remarked. Such dramas caused a huge damage to the economy, Dar added.

He was commenting on two statistical studies conducted by Dr Ashfaq Hasan Khan of NUST (National University of Sciences and Technology). The first of these showed that high discount rate contributed to inflationary pressure.

Meanwhile, the second study revealed that the devaluation of rupee against dollar had not contributed to export growth. In fact, the poor management added a cost of $31 billion to the economy.

Last week, Dar, in a tweet, had noted that a strong currency was a prerequisite for an emerging economy and the rupee remained stable during the PML-N government.

ابھرتی معیشت کے لئیے مستحکم کرنسی ضروری ہے۔#PMLN کے 5 سالہ دور میں پاکستانی روپیہ الحمدللّٰہ مستحکم رہا۔پہلے سال کی سالانہ اوسط 103 جبکہ آخری 5ویں سال کی سالانہ اوسط 109 رہی۔جبکہ #PTI کے پہلے سال کی اوسط 137 اور دوسرے سال کی اوسط 157 رہی۔#تبدیلی_سرکار نے معیشت کا جنازہ نکال دیا۔ pic.twitter.com/hTqQmmsxvB

— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) May 7, 2020

The senior PML-N leader cited the yearly average which, he said, was 103 in 2014 and 109 in 2018. But the PTI government had ruined the economy, as the yearly average for 2019 and 2020 stood at 137 and 157 respectively.