Islamabad, Feb 22 (NVI) Pakistan has lost its ‘credibility’ as a country, its Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said as the nation remains ridden with acute economic distress and security challenges.
Aurangzeb, while speaking at a Senate Climate Change Committee Meeting, talked about the extreme difficulties that Pakistan is facing on the economic front.
The meeting was convened to discuss the country’s climate financing challenges and its negotiations with international lenders, according to The Express Tribune newspaper.
“We have lost our credibility as a country,” the Minister said as he mentioned about the financial help that Pakistan is seeking from international monetary bodies.
Pakistan has virtually become bankrupt as it has been going through acute economic crisis.
He said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had committed USD 500 million and Pakistan expects to secure USD 1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week.
There is an urgent need for economic reforms in Pakistan to restore trust among the international funding organisations, he said.
The Minister said the government is working on issuing ‘Green Panda’ bonds to attract further investments.
The ‘green panda’ bonds are issued in Chinese yuan by a foreign entity and the proceeds from these are used for green projects or assets.
He also announced a major shift in tax policy, stating that the Finance Ministry will now oversee tax policy, while the Federal Board of Revenue will focus solely on tax collection.
The minister also stressed the need for structural reforms to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth, according to the paper. (NVI)
