Govt Plans Action Against Negative Reporting on Pakistan’s Economy

In view of the resurging terrorism in the country, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presided over the meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) in Islamabad on Friday. While the forum evaluated the security challenges and decided to deal with terrorists with an iron fist, the forum also declared the act of reporting on Pakistan’s default risk as anti-Pakistan and a part of the foreign agenda. According to reports, the NSC has decided to go after those who are painting an economic picture of Pakistan deemed unacceptable by the incumbent ruling government. Reports add that the next NSC meeting will issue reporting guidelines regarding Pakistan’s economy. The approval to launch a crackdown against ‘negative’ reporters of Pakistan’s economy will be sought as well in the coming meeting. Earlier this week, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar reiterated that there is no chance Pakistan would default any time soon. He blamed the system for all the mess, including the depleting forex reserves. Foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) witnessed a substantial outflow of $294 million, falling to $5.8 billion, the lowest level since April 2014 when the central held $6.11 billion. Meanwhile, the net foreign reserves held by the commercial banks stand at $5.88 billion. As of the week ending on 23 December, the country’s total foreign reserves stood at $11.7 billion. Via: Samaa