Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assures country 'will not default'

Islamabad [Pakistan], December 29 : Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has reiterated that Pakistan will not default amid concerns over the country's economic situation, The News International reported.
In his address at a ceremony at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Dar acknowledged that Pakistan is in a difficult spot and stressed that the country will "survive" as things are being managed.
"How will there be a default? There is no chance that Pakistan will default," The News International quoted Ishaq Dar as saying.
"I can prove to anyone in a discussion that Pakistan will not default but our problem is that for petty politics and objectives, we are harming the country," he added.
Ishaq Dar said that Pakistan did not approach the Paris Club and paid the bonds in time. He stressed that Pakistan was on the verge of default in 2013. However, their government was able to move the country out of the crisis by using "good economic steps." He called on the business community to allocate some time as they have a "big role to play" in boosting Pakistan's economy.
"The economic conditions were extremely bad in 2013 but we stabilised the economy in three years. Pakistan was on the verge of default in 2013 but we steered out of the crisis through good economic steps," The Express Tribune reported citing the minister.
Furthermore, Dar stated that he is of the opinion that Pakistan has a beautiful future, however, the country was put in a situation that it doesn't deserve. He called on the people of Pakistan to work together. Pakistan's Finance Minister said that he is not at fault as the country's reserves are not USD 24 billion as they used to be in 2016.
"That is not my fault. The fault is in the system and we must ensure Pakistan goes forward," Dar said.
Highlighting Pakistan's economic situation, Ishaq Dar said that the country's debt-to-GDP ratio was 62 per cent when he left the post of Finance Minister in 2016. However, Pakistan's debt-to-GDP ratio has now reached 72 per cent. He said that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the debt-to-GDP ratio of the United States is 110 per cent. Furthermore, Ishaq Dar said that Japan's GDP is at 257 per cent and the United Kingdom's is at 101 per cent.
Earlier on December 24, the State Bank of Pakistan in its annual report said that the incumbent government avoided focusing on growth for the fiscal year FY23, resulting in a drop in growth, according to Dawn. Despite sacrificing growth, Pakistan's government has not been able to achieve price stability and financial stability.
In the report on 'State of the Economy for the fiscal year FY22', the State Bank of Pakistan has estimated that growth in FY23 would be less than the low range set for the year, according to Dawn. It further said that the growth rate will remain lower than 3-4 per cent.
Citing international experience, Pakistan's central bank in its annual report said that the countries that prioritise growth at the expense of price and financial stability are not able to "sustain growth and have repeated boom-bust cycles followed by financial crisis." As per the report, the sharp drop in growth has caused heavy lay-offs from the trade and industrial sectors.