Miftah Ismail claims Pakistan saved $2.7b after sharp drop in imports

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has claimed that Pakistan saved $2.7 billion after making a massive reduction in imports which brought down the import bill from $7.7 billion to $5 billion.

The claims of Miftah Ismail were made in a press conference yesterday which raised many questions regarding the economic indicators of the country. Moreover, he also claimed that the incumbent government have pulled Pakistan back from the brink of debt default.

The claims of the massive savings preserved at the national exchequer have contradicted the factual grounds in many aspects.

As per Ismail’s tweet, “Our efforts to reduce imports have finally borne fruit. Imports in July, per FBR data, were only $5.0b compared to $7.7b in June. Given that we have pulled Pakistan back from the brink of default, our govt is determined to minimise the large current account deficit [CAD] left by PTI.”

Our efforts to reduce imports have finally borne fruit. Imports in July, per FBR data, were only $5.0b compared to $7.7b in June. Given that we have pulled Pakistan back from the brink of default, our govt is determined to minimise the large current account deficit left by PTI.

— Miftah Ismail (@MiftahIsmail) July 31, 2022

The finance minister further claimed that the pressure on the rupee will ease in the next two weeks. He brought a new logic, saying that the government made payments worth billions which caused the local currency to come under pressure.

Ismail conducted the press conference on July 31, prior to the issuance of any monthly financial analysis report of the state institutions including the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The pre-analytical statement regarding the national economy raised questions about whether it will be followed in the monthly report of the government’s financial institutions in the coming days.

It has raised another question about the consistent depreciation of the rupee which recorded a historic drop against the US dollar during the month of July. Moreover, the ‘$2.7 billion savings’ did not impact the foreign reserves which would be assumed as the first step toward economic stability.