Macro stability, but at what cost?

At the rele­ase of the Pakistan Econo­mic Survey for FY24 on Tuesday, Finance Min­ister Muhammad Auran­g­zeb boasted of the econo­mic stability achieved during the outgoing fiscal year. The nation’s GDP is estimated to grow by 2.38pc against a contraction of 0.2pc in FY23, the current account deficit has been contained to an estimated $200 million against the projection of $6 billion, foreign exchange reserves have increased to nearly $9 billion from just enough to pay for two weeks of imports at the end of June last year and the country has reduced its fiscal deficit (by producing a primary surplus, the minister explained.