Protests, sit-ins to cause Rs120bn daily loss to economy, says finance minister

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that Pakistan is moving from economic stabilisation towards growth, warning that protests, strikes and sit-ins could cost the economy Rs120 billion a day.

Speaking to the media, the minister said that the country’s foreign exchange reserves had reached a historic high, the current account was in surplus and remittances were continuing to rise.

He said Pakistan’s economic journey was now moving from stabilisation to growth, but warned that the prevailing situation in the Middle East posed major challenges to global trade.

“Unfortunately, everyone is being affected by the situation in the Middle East,” the minister said, adding that disruptions in supply chains and rising freight and insurance costs were affecting international trade.

Aurangzeb said that calls for marches, strikes and sit-ins at a time when the country was seeking economic growth were difficult to understand. He warned that protests and disruptions to economic activity could affect the country’s growth trajectory and result in losses of around Rs120 billion a day.

The finance minister said that disruption to economic activity could amount to self-inflicted damage, with the services sector estimated to suffer losses of around Rs86 billion a day and the industrial sector around Rs25 billion.

He added that the disruption could also result in an estimated revenue loss of Rs17 billion. Aurangzeb further alleged that hostile forces were behind the terrorism taking place in the country.