With nothing but a diary in his hand, Imran Khan left the Prime Minister’s office, becoming the first-ever prime minister of the country to be ousted through a vote of no-confidence. Apart from making the Supreme and the High courts work on a Sunday, which in itself is a feat, Imran Khan leaves behind a legacy of economic achievements.
In the years that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ruled the country, exports have witnessed consistent growth, exceeding most of the monthly and quarterly targets set forth by the government. Compared to the exports under the rule of previous governments, during which exports largely remained invariable, Pakistan recorded a 26 percent increase in exports in just under four years.
In 2013 when PML-N took over, the exports were valued at around $25 billion per year, and by the end of their term in 2018, the exports had shrunk down by $2 billion and were valued at around $23 billion.
Read more: Finance Ministry rebuts int’l media news on Pakistan’s state of economy
On the contrary, in the last fiscal year under the PTI government’s rule, Pakistan exported approximately $25 billion worth of goods and around $6 billion worth of services taking the total export value to around $31 billion. Pakistan’s IT exports also soared during the time, which recorded an increase of $2.7 billion from $1 billion and an increase of 217 percent.
Moreover, according to several estimates, foreign remittance increased $12 billion, from $19 billion to $31 billion.
PTI also introduced favorable policies that enabled various industries and empowered large segments of society. For instance, as a result of the Make in Pakistan policy, mobile manufacturing increased by almost 70 percent. Moreover, under its rule, the government recorded the highest ever tax collection, despite the lowest share of customs duties.
This tax collection enabled the government to subsidize different sectors and, as a result, achieve widespread growth in different sectors. The government also made over a hundred thousand acres of land cultivable by constructing two new canals. Many state-owned companies, which were essentially loss-making enterprises, turned into profit-making enterprises.
Read more: Breakthrough: Pakistan to get 50% share in Reko Diq?
The government also empowered the youth by giving them loans and creating an entrepreneurial culture in the country. According to an estimate, loans of over 30-50 billion were given to the youth as an indirect result of which over 100,000 new companies were registered.
In the past three years, Pakistan’s economy created 5.5 million jobs, recorded the lowest unemployment, developed the construction industry, introduced a mortgage culture, initiated the construction of three big dams, and started 20 plus new industrial zones.
The country also recorded an influx in tourism projects. The PTI government was also lauded internationally for its handling of the COVID pandemic, which recorded considerably fewer cases and managed the pandemic better than most of the regional countries.
6. Got Rikodiq 11 Billion USD penalty removed and turned into 9 Billion USD investment by same company
7. Smart handling of COVID, first time in decades our GDP growth rate was more than India or Bangladesh even year after.
— Economy of Pakistan (@Pakistanomy) April 10, 2022
In its most recent achievement, the government also got an $11 billion penalty removed in the Reko Diq case and reconstituted a project at excavating huge gold and copper reserves from the site in Balochistan.