ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar has said if the expected gross domestic product growth rate of 3.94 percent for the current fiscal year and increase in remittances are combined, it will take the gross national product growth to 6.5 percent, which is the highest GNP growth in the last 16 years.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, the planning minister said that Pakistan has set a 4.8 percent GDP growth target for the financial year 2021-22.
He said that the country is on the course to achieve 3.94 percent GDP growth for the outgoing 2020-21 year, adding: “This growth is an indicator that the revival that has started is continuing its momentum.”
Highlighting the achievements of the government, Umar said in the nine months of the current fiscal year, IT exports showed growth of 46 percent.
He said that the country witnessed a strong growth during the fiscal year, and it is expected that the remittances would shoot up from $21.7 billion to $29.1 billion till the year end — an increase of 34 percent in a year. Asad said remittances played an important role in helping the country’s economy grow, adding, “It is important that we should give overseas Pakistanis the right to vote.”
Shedding light on why the government is expecting a 4.8 percent GDP growth in FY 2021-22, he said that the government has invested in the agricultural sector which will greatly benefit the economy.
He also said that last year and this year cotton fields were badly affected, however, the government has now bought good quality seeds, stressed on the use of pesticides, and the demand for cotton has increased in the international market since. “And so, after consultations with all the provinces, we have concluded that Pakistan can produce 10.5 million bales — 4 million from Sindh, 6 million from Punjab, and the rest from other provinces.”
Asad said that the livestock industry has also been adversely impacted by the coronavirus, but in the next fiscal year, it will move towards normalisation, and growth in this sector, too, will be visible.
The federal minister said that electricity consumption is expected to grow by 6 percent, and after the government has announced a package for the industries, their power consumption has gone up 15 percent during the current fiscal — and in the next year, it is predicted to go up further.
Growth is expected in gas, coal, and construction, among several other sectors. “Exports are predicted to go up, this year it stood at $25.2 billion, and in the next year, it will move up to $26.8 billion.”
The federal minister said this year’s $25.2 billion worth of exports are the country’s highest figures in the last 10 years. “It is unfortunate — that the backbone of the economy, exports, faced several setbacks during the previous year.” Asad said that the next year’s target for exports, $26.8, would be the highest in the country’s history.
‘FIRST RAYS OF SUNLIGHT’:
Speaking about the coronavirus vaccination campaign, Asad said that Islamabad has reached the point where “first rays of sunlight” had started to appear as 21 percent of its target population had been inoculated against Covid-19.
Addressing the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce in the capital, the minster remarked the inoculation campaign was progressing comparatively better in the federal capital than in other parts of the country.
However, he pointed out that there was room for more vaccinations than this, adding that “the faster we do this work, the faster we will permanently escape [this situation].”
He said that the current vaccination capacity in Islamabad was 20,000 shots daily while the average number of first dose administrations was 7,000 shots.
Speaking on Friday, Asad said that there was a need to run a vaccination campaign with help of the businessmen and traders because they stood to benefit the most from it.
He gave the example of Massachusetts, which according to him was completely lifting restrictions and going towards reopening because it had reached a certain stage of the vaccination process.
“It is only a matter of a few weeks, not months and years when we can completely escape this [situation in Islamabad].
“The faster we increase vaccinations, the sooner we will get the opportunity to remove all restrictions,” said the federal minister, adding that he wanted to see no restrictions in place on Eid-ul-Azha so businesses and traders could be free to work.
“I believe the NCOC will provide you full help and if your leadership is present then we want to send a message through you […] your real help is needed in vaccinating your employees in your businesses,” said Asad.
He also added that coordination with the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce was needed due to many people commuting from the city to Islamabad for work. “I have no doubt, we have the vaccine in our hand and vaccination centres are built so we can set up vaccination centres in the markets as well.”
It bears mentioning that Islamabad’s twin city, reported that as many as 320,407 people, including 23,707 health workers and 296,700 senior citizens have jabbed themselves so far against the coronavirus from 23 centres operating across the district since the vaccination administering drive launched on March 10.
According to data shared by the district administration Friday, 4278 people had been inoculated the vaccine at Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Taxila, 853 at THQH Murree, 2211 at THQH Kahuta, 4843 at THQH Gujar Khan, 547 at THQH Kotli Sattian, 1882 at THQH, Kallar Sayda, 10,498 at Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, and 5195 at Holy Family Hospital.
Moreover, 3445 people were vaccinated at DHQ Hospital, 8731 at Benazir Bhutto Hospital, 643 at Govt T.B Sanatorium Samli, 9111 at Wah General Hospital, 83,407 at Shahbaz Sharif Complex, 19,834 at Tehsil office Taxila, 11,699 at TO office Kallar Syedan, 26,555 at TO office Gujar Khan, 1650 at TO office Kotli Sattiyan, 3990 at TO office Murree, 60,579 at TO office Potohar, 10,904 at TO office Kahuta, 3602 District Health Office, 92 Government Wapda hospital while 45,868 people received the jab at Red Crescent vaccination centre.
Asad said that a meeting of the NCOC would be called next week to launch a national campaign where the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, trade associations and other stakeholders would be invited to work together on vaccinations.
The federal minister also said that the NCOC discussed the opening up of amusement parks during Friday morning’s session and it was decided to give permission to open them with limited numbers and compliance with Covid-19 standard operating procedures.
He added that in a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee last week, he had highlighted that some sectors and industries such as restaurants, marriage halls and education institutions had faced “exceptional injury” due to Covid restrictions.
“I said that we should announce a special package for the people associated with these sectors because the pain they have suffered has benefited society.”
Asad said the finance minister had accepted this proposal and a decision was made that a package would be formulated by the relevant ministers and bodies.
The federal minister also highlighted Pakistan’s economic performance during the Covid-19 pandemic and pointed out that while India had contracted and many fast-growing economies had also seen negative growth, “we more or less [achieved] breakeven.”
He said people were shocked over the current growth estimate of 3.94pc, adding that the Planning Commission had given a growth estimate of 4.8pc for next year.
Asad credited the growth estimates to the government’s balanced decision-making.
He said that the decisions Prime Minister Imran Khan had taken to deal with the situation during the Covid-19 pandemic reflected the thinking of “a mother for her children”.
Another 67 people lost their lives to the coronavirus whereas 2,482 fresh cases were reported during the last 24 hours across Pakistan, showed the figures released by the NCOC on Friday morning.
According to the latest figures from the NCOC, the death toll has surged to 20,607 while the number of confirmed cases stands at 913,784.
During the 24 hours (Thursday), the tally of recoveries increased by 2,822 to 834,566, or 91.3 percent of total infections. There are currently 58,611 active cases of Covid-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 4,132 of them require critical care.
On Thursday, a total of 51,625 coronavirus tests were conducted and the positivity rate was recorded at 4.80 percent.
Punjab: Authorities reported 26 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 9,925. The province now has 337,775 confirmed cases; it reported 702 new infections after conducting 20,903 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.36 percent. There were 1,167 new recoveries recorded, leaving 307,716 fully recovered, and 20,134 active cases of the virus.
Sindh: Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 314,158; it reported 1,099 new infections after administering 14,529 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.56 percent. The province reported 22 deaths, raising the toll to 4,988, while its recoveries rose by 708 to 285,403. Overall, the province now has 23,767 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: During the past 24 hours (Thursday), the provincial government recorded 384 new infections after conducting 8,110 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.73 percent. Overall, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 131,411. It recorded 16 new deaths and 305 recoveries, raising toll to 4,025 and recoveries to 121,822. There are currently 5,564 active cases of Covid-19 in the province.
Balochistan: The province raised its confirmed cases to 24,908 with 85 new infections after administering 1,450 tests for a positivity ratio of 5.86 percent. There were no deaths and 24 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 273 fatalities and 23,525 fully recovered. There are now 1,110 active cases of Covid-19 in the province.
Islamabad: The federal capital raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 148 to 80,927 after conducting 5,273 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.81 percent. There were 2 deaths and 526 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 753 casualties; 73,743 recovered; and 6,431 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan: Gilgit Baltistan recorded 12 new cases of Covid-19 after conducting 490 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.45 percent; it now has 5,545 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths and 2 recoveries, leaving 107 fatalities and 5,326 fully recovered people. There are currently 112 active cases of Covid-19 in the region.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir: In Azad Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 52 to 19,060 after administering 870 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.98 percent. There was 1 death and 90 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 536 fatalities and 17,031 fully recovered. It now has 1,493 active cases of Covid-19.
