Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan’s economy moved towards stability and recovery during the first eight months of the current fiscal year.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, the minister said the prevailing situation in the region had created the risk of a major oil crisis, with global oil prices likely to rise further. He warned that the situation in the Middle East could lead to a global oil crisis.
He urged the public to conserve energy and avoid unnecessary travel. Families should adopt a one-car policy to help reduce fuel consumption.
Iqbal said every Pakistani must play a role in strengthening the national economy. Meetings of the Price Monitoring Committee continued regularly to maintain price stability.
The federal minister said average inflation from July to February stood at 5.5 per cent, while inflation in February reached 7 per cent.
He said large-scale manufacturing recorded an increase of 4.8 per cent. Tax collections from July to February reached Rs8.1 trillion, while remittances rose to $23.2 billion.
Iqbal said progress on projects under the Public Sector Development Programme remained satisfactory. A saving of Rs9.9 billion occurred under austerity measures.
He added that new projects were expected to create around 25,000 jobs.
