This message emerged from a roundtable session on Federal Budget 2019-20 at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad. He said that the pinpoint target of IMF was to fix the primary deficit, which is the need of the time for the country’s economic policy. He also viewed IMF’s review of the economic targets on quarterly basis for the next three years as a good omen for economic discipline. Dr Salman was of the view that implicit obligations were missing in the budget as no long-term objectives were being seen. Dar was critical of the proposed federal budget and questioned if the budget was made to increase the growth or to escalate poverty.

Source: The Express Tribune June 15, 2019 05:14 UTC