GDP prediction: NAC approves statistics showing economic growth during PTI-led govt

The National Accounts Committee has acknowledged the economic performance of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government as the gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at 5.7 per cent in the last year of Imran Khan’s rule.

The controversy over the rate of economic growth over the past few months has ended as the National Accounts Committee declared the data of 5.7 per cent economic growth under the rule of the former prime minister instead of 5.5 per cent which made the critics silent.

The National Accounts Committee (NAC) met under the chair of the federal secretary of planning yesterday in which the economic statistics for 10 months of the current fiscal year from July 2021 to April 2022 and the previous fiscal year from July 2020 to June 2021 were reviewed and approved.

The forum approved the data of 5.7% GDP growth which is predicted to be increased up to 5.9% in the current fiscal year. According to the NAC, the growth rate of the agricultural sector was 3.48% in the last financial year, while the growth rate of the agricultural sector is expected to be hiked up to 4.4% in the current financial year.

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During the current financial year, sugarcane production increased from 81 million to 88.7 million tonnes, and rice production from 8.4 to 9.3 million metric tons. maize from 8.4 to 16 million metric tons, whereas, the wheat product decreased by 1.1 million metric tons from 27.5 to 26.4 million tonnes.

Cotton production increased from 7.1 million to 8.3 million bales.

The rate of livestock will be 3.2%, the growth rate of forests will be 6.1% and the industrial growth rate will be 7.1%, whereas, the rate of industrial growth was 7.8% in the last financial year. The growth rate in major industries is expected to be 10.4%.

In the last financial year, the growth rate in major industries was 11.4%. The NAC was apprised that the growth rate in small-scale industries is expected to be 8.90% as against 8.97% in the previous financial year.

The growth rate in the energy sector will be 7.8% as compared to 6.3% in the previous financial year.

The growth rate in the services sector is predicted at 5.6% as compared to 6% in the previous financial year. Similarly, the growth rate in the education services sector will be 8.6%. The growth rate in the finance and insurance sectors is expected to be 4.9%.

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Economists have praised the National Accounts Committee’s statistics and said that the dispute over the rate of economic growth has been resolved after the official data.

It will also end the public outcry against the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) government for meddling the data of economic growth rate from 5.5% to 4% by putting pressure on the chief economist Dr Zubair.

Yesterday, it emerged that the chief economist Ahmed Zubair had resigned after he was being pressurised to change data on GDP, as revealed by the former finance minister Senator Shaukat Tarin.

Taking to Twitter to make the announcement, Tarin asked the incumbent government why they are bent on ruining the institutions. “The facts cannot be suppressed,” he said and claimed that Dr Zubair was being forced to change GDP data.

My hunch was correct, Dr Zubair has resigned. Why do we try to destroy institutions. Facts cannot be suppressed. pic.twitter.com/FHtAp1chvX

— Shaukat Tarin (@shaukat_tarin) May 18, 2022

Shahbaz Gill also tweeted on the matter saying that previously PML-N’s Ishaq Dar was caught red-handed while changing data on GDP and later termed it a typo error. “They have once again resorted to same tactics,” he said.

چور چوری سے جائے ہیرا پھیری سے نہ جائے

لیکن یہ چور ایسے ہیں کہ
نہ چوری سے جائیں نہ ہیرا پھیری سے
پہلے اسحاق ڈار رنگے ہاتھوں پکڑا گیا تھا جی ڈی پی کے فگرز میں دو نمبری کرتے ہوئے اور ٹائپو ایرر کہہ کر جان چھڑائی
وہی طریقہ وہی واردات ایک بار پھر شروع#امپورٹڈ_حکومت_نامنظور pic.twitter.com/1vnQAFgj57

— Dr. Shahbaz GiLL (@SHABAZGIL) May 18, 2022

The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) government has allegedly tried to downplay GDP growth for the fiscal year 2021-22 by pressurising the department of statistics, according to the media reports.