IMF fully controlling Pakistan’s economy: Saleem Mandviwalla

ISLAMABAD, June 7: Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Saleem Mandviwalla has termed the Federal budget 2016-17 as directionless having no economic vision, long term policy and strategy to improve the tax compliance, reduce tax evasion and to give a sigh of relief to the honest tax payers.
He was addressing a press conference along with PPP leader Syed Naveed Qamar MNA and Media Office In-charge Nazir Dhoki here on Tuesday.
He said that the Federal Budget is completely lacking in any direction, agriculture and manufacturing sectors are two legs on which economy stands but both are facing worse conditions.
He said that economy is running under IMF pressure and the budget has been made under IMF dictation. The IMF is fully controlling the Pakistani economy.
Senator Saleem Mandviwalla was of the view that the gvernment was manipulating figures each year since it took over in 2013; it is manipulating each and every figure like GDP growth, fiscal deficit, tax to GDP ratio, investment to GDP, inflation rate, unemployment rate.
Senator Mandviwalla was of the view that Pakistan Bureau of Statistics PBS is not independent; unfortunately, Finance Ministry is dictating and pressurizing them to manipulate figures in their favour.
He said that the figure of 4.71 per cent GDP growth is wrong and manipulated. As reported by an independent organization SPDC (Social Policy and Development Center) the growth rate for this year was 3.1 per cent.-DNA