Chief Minister of Punjab (CM) Usman Buzdar has blamed previous governments for the bad condition of the economy.

In a statement, CM Buzdar said that projects for personal exhibition were installed by taking hefty loans which weakened the economy. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is leading the country towards right direction, he add

Earlier, Usman Buzdar said that the age of flashy development projects has become past now. He said that previous governments had emptied the national exchequer with their ineffective policies while PTI has provided resources for the welfare of the nation despite financial crisis.

The CM further claimed that a lot of amount was used for the advertisement and exhibition of Ramazan markets in the previous tenures whereas the incumbent government has saved this money. He said that illegal increase in prices of commodities will not be tolerated.

In another development to highlight Punjab to play its role in national exchequer, Advisor to Chief Minister Dr Salman Shah has said Punjab was the engine of growth in Pakistan. “Pakistan will prosper if Punjab progresses.

He said in the last 10 years, the economic growth rate in Punjab has been only 4%, which is very low. “There was no other option but to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan. No one else will give you loan,” said Dr Shah.

In a talk, Dr Shah said if the federal government works on the macro level, then the provinces have to work on the micro level because all the economic activities were done at the provincial including agriculture, mining and trade activities.

“There will be new opportunities of business and jobs if there is innovation in these fields. There is a need for special reforms in the agriculture sector because the entire country is dependent on Punjab,” he said.

“At present, the cost in agriculture department of Punjab is much higher, but production is very low due to which this sector is in trouble. Without removing barriers, it is impossible to determine the right direction.” He said the work on National Finance Commission (NFC) was underway and all the provinces were positive to come up with a better formula for NFC.