Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb says Pakistan’s economy remained resilient and stable despite challenging geopolitical conditions and ongoing regional tensions over the past two months.
He was addressing a joint news conference alongside Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik in Islamabad, according to a report today.
Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan’s Large-Scale Manufacturing sector registered an 11 percent year-on-year growth in April, while cumulative growth during the first nine months of the fiscal year stood at 6.5 percent. He expressed confidence that the country’s GDP growth would approach four percent during the current fiscal year, compared to 3.1 percent recorded last year.
Highlighting the performance of the external sector, the Finance Minister said exports increased by nine percent month-on-month and 14 percent year-on-year, driven by strong contributions from value-added textiles, information technology, and other sectors. He noted that the export-led growth reflected the broad-based recovery of the economy.
Muhammad Aurangzeb further said workers’ remittances remained strong, with inflows reaching 3.5 billion dollars during April after touching 3.8 billion dollars in March. He also underscored the growing confidence of overseas Pakistanis in the economy through the Roshan Digital Account initiative. He shared that Roshan Digital Account inflows increased significantly from around 200 million dollars to 260 million dollars in March and further surged to a historic 320 million dollars in April. He termed this development a “strong vote of confidence” by overseas Pakistanis in the country’s economic direction.
Muhammad Aurangzeb also highlighted Pakistan’s renewed access to international capital markets after four years, stating that the country successfully raised 750 million dollars through Eurobonds despite the prevailing regional conflict. He further announced that Pakistan is preparing to access Chinese capital markets through a Panda Bond issuance.
Discussing foreign exchange reserves, the Finance Minister expressed optimism that Pakistan’s reserves would reach approximately 15 billion dollars by the end of next month, equivalent to three months of import cover.
Referring to recent fuel price adjustments, Muhammad Aurangzeb reiterated the government’s commitment to protecting vulnerable segments of society. He said the government introduced targeted subsidies for motorcyclists, public transport, and small farmers in consultation with provincial governments. He announced that these targeted subsidies have been extended into the third month under the direction of the Prime Minister to continue providing relief to economically vulnerable groups.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik said that despite international oil benchmarks reaching historically high levels, the government has made every effort to protect consumers and ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies across the country.
He acknowledged the support and cooperation extended by friendly countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, in facilitating petroleum supplies to Pakistan during the challenging period.
Both ministers reaffirmed the government’s commitment to economic stability, energy security, and public relief measures, while expressing hope for the early restoration of peace and stability in the region.