Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Monday that the government will provide relief for the salaried class at the first opportunity it gets. understand their (the salary class) pain and I empathise,尿urangzeb made the remarks on a private Tv program. The minister added that the government was working hard to bring retailers into the tax net. He added that the new punitive actions will lead non-filers to think three, four or five times about why they are not part of the net. Aurangzeb also said that the government hopes to achieve a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund in the ongoing month. The minister admitted that Pakistan only has enough dollars to last a few month leading to the country running back to the IMF again and again. He said that an extended program with the IMF would be a stamp of approval for the economy痴 stability. While claiming that the currency would remain stable, Aurangzeb said that IMF or no IMF, Agriculture and IT are two sectors with potential of immense growth for the Pakistani economy.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan