Pakistan, April 28 -- Former finance minister Dr. Hafeez Pasha has warned that the State Bank of Pakistan's dollar buying from informal markets is not a sustainable solution. He said this policy, aimed at stabilising the rupee, hurts exporters and discourages economic growth. Exporters now face a heavy 29% tax under IMF terms, while countries like India and Bangladesh support their exporters with tax relief.

Dr. Pasha criticised the government's economic policies, saying growth is unlikely to cross 2% this year-far below the 3.5% target. He pointed to poor performance in large-scale manufacturing and a sharp 28% fall in cotton production as major reasons for the slowdown. With first-quarter GDP at only 1%, per capita income continues to ...