KARACHI: Former finance minister Asad Umar has criticised the government’s economic policies, claiming that the past four years have been among the most difficult periods for Pakistan’s economy.
Speaking in an interview with ARY News on Saturday, Umar said economic growth had remained very weak during the period, while inflation and poverty had continued to rise.
He said Pakistan had experienced record levels of inflation and pointed to government data indicating an increase in the number of people living below the poverty line.
“Government figures are telling the story of the destruction of the economy,” he said.
Discussing taxation and petroleum prices, the former minister argued that the government should have reduced the petroleum levy when international oil prices were increasing significantly. Instead, he claimed, taxes on petroleum products were raised alongside fuel prices.
Umar claimed that the petroleum levy on petrol had increased from Rs50 to Rs117 per litre, while the government collected around Rs1.6 trillion through the levy during the previous year.
He also alleged that more than Rs600 billion in taxes were collected from salaried employees last year, while less than Rs10 billion was collected from landlords, feudal families, industrialists and wealthy landowners across the four provinces.
Umar said the imbalance in tax collection had contributed to growing public frustration, arguing that salaried workers were carrying a disproportionate share of the tax burden.
He also criticised the government’s plans concerning new independent power producer projects.
Referring to changes in the solar power policy, Umar said the government had previously altered its five-year policy for solar consumers and ended net metering, which he described as unfair to consumers. He questioned the decision to pursue new power-generation projects alongside such policy changes.
According to Umar, the approach resembled policies adopted by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government between 2013 and 2018.
He further claimed that similar power plants were being developed in Bangladesh at nearly one-third of the cost, raising questions over the cost-effectiveness of Pakistan’s proposed energy investments.
