Asad Umar, a senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has expressed surprise and skepticism over the claims made by former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chief Shabbar Zaidi regarding the country’s economy during PTI’s government tenure. Zaidi claimed that the economic policies of PTI were leading the country toward default.
Former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chief Shabbar Zaidi was appointed by the PTI-led government in 2019. He claimed that had the PTI government continued in power, the party would not have even secured 5% of the votes. Zaidi made this assertion, suggesting that the economic situation during the PTI government’s tenure was critical. He said that the government’s policies and actions could have led to a severe economic crisis.
Zaidi asserted that the government would have faced an economic collapse if it had continued in power until April 2022. He claimed that he had advised Prime Minister Imran Khan to address the government’s shortcomings and issues. However, Khan resisted his advice.
In response to Zaidi’s claims, Asad Umar questioned the basis of these assertions and rhetorically asked where this story originated from. Asad Umar, the former finance minister of Pakistan, clarified that the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves were at $8.7 billion when he left the finance ministry in April 2019.
He also questioned the claims made by others about a potential default on debt repayments during PTI’s tenure. He said the country had a substantial reserve of foreign exchange at that time.
Umar contrasted the situation during PTI’s rule with the period under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government. He suggested that the forex reserves plunged to less than $3 billion during that time.
His statements aim to challenge the narrative that the country’s economy was on the brink of collapse during PTI’s rule. It highlights the relative stability during their tenure compared to the subsequent period under the PDM-led government.
