ISLAMABAD, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar said on Monday that achieving higher economic growth was the government's primary focus.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Ishaq Dar said the real objective was to put the national economy on the higher trajectory of growth.
The finance minister mentioned that the government focused on achieving the 6 percent growth target, adding that the government has monitored, managed, and controlled expenditures to a large extent.
Speaking about the economic indicators, Ishaq Dar said inflation was arrested within a decent range while interest rates were at the multi-decade lowest levels. Inflation was recorded at 4.2 percent at the end of the financial year 2017, he added.
The top economic manager dispelled the impression that the country's foreign exchange reserves were hitting the worrisome levels. "Our foreign reserves are standing at 14 billion (U.S.) dollars," he said.
Putting the blame on the previous government, Ishaq Dar said the energy sector was ignored for over a decade which has lifted the circular debt to above 503 billion rupees (4.77 billion U.S. dollars). He claimed that the circular debt has been brought under 400 billion rupees (3.79 billion U.S. dollars).
He said the government was able to curtail the circular debt while reducing the energy deficit and cutting down the duration of load-shedding across the country.
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