WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Adviser on Institutional Reformsand Austerity Dr Ishrat Husain has rejected the notion that the defencebudget of Pakistan is the real economic burden on the country.
Speaking at the Pakistan Policy Symposium in Washington, Dr Ishrat saidthat Pakistan’s defence expenditure is not the large amount, adding thatdefence expenditures takes up only three per cent of the gross domesticproduct (GDP).
“The country is facing economic crisis due to big problem of debt paymentthat is the country’s major challenge. It is the payment of debt amountingup to Rs1,500 billion,” he mentioned.
The economist explained that the government decided to approach theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) as the country’s financial gap is wide.He added that the public interest would be considered during talks with IMF.
The PM adviser said that In Pakistan, as more as 1.2 million people paytaxes, if the taxpayers people increased just only 2 million that would beproved positive impact for the economy of Pakistan.