0.92pc quarterly growth negates govt claim of economic revival

Pakistan’s economy grew by a modest 0.92 per cent in the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year, a steep fall from 2.3pc recorded in the same period last year. The PML-N-led coalition government claims economic revival, but first-quarter figures tell a different story compared to the growth recorded during the caretaker setup last year, according to data released by the National Accounts Committee (NAC) on Monday. The modest quarterly growth was mainly due to a 1.43pc increase in the services sector and a 1.15pc rise in agriculture. However, the industrial sector shrank by 1.03pc, dragging down overall economic performance. The NAC slightly revised the GDP growth for FY24 downward, from an earlier estimate of 2.52pc to 2.50pc. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) expects GDP growth to stay in the upper half of the 2.5-3.5pc range for FY25. Similarly, the International Monetary Fund projects a 3.2pc economic expansion. Recently, the Asian Development Bank also increased its forecast for Pakistan’s GDP growth to 3pc, up from 2.8pc.