Shaukat Tarin, the federal finance minister, said on Thursday that the administration has no imminent plans to raise the electricity tariff.
In an interview with the US Institute of Peace under Washington, the finance minister stated that before raising the power rate, the administration will take steps to keep inflation in check.
He said that the Pakistani government is in communication with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about the issue. Shaukat Tarin stated that changes were being implemented in order to enhance the economy of the country. To ease the financial load, he said steps were being underway to privatise a few loss-making state-owned companies.
He stated that the administration has placed the country’s economy on the correct track and predicted that Pakistan’s growth rate will reach 5%. Tarin noted that the government will shortly receive the IMF’s sixth tranche.
The finance minister stated that they desired good connections with both China and the United States, adding that favourable relations between Pakistan and China should not affect relations between Pakistan and the United States.
He stated that rather than focusing on security, Pakistan-US ties should be examined from an economic standpoint.
Pakistan also wants cordial relations with all of its neighbours, including India, according to the minister. He went on to say that Kashmir is a point of dispute between Islamabad and New Delhi.
Shaukat Tarin, speaking on Afghanistan, claimed that the Taliban’s rule is a reality, and that Washington must recognise that the Taliban require humanitarian help.
If the rest of the world abandons Afghanistan, the nation may face anticipated anarchy, he warned, adding that Pakistan will be the worst hit.
According to Tarin, Pakistan has handled 26 of the Financial Action Task Force’s 27 action items (FATF). “Some nations are punishing Pakistan,” he added, adding that if it were any other country, it would have been taken off the grey list long ago.