New Delhi: Shabbar Zaidi, former chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) of Pakistan, on Wednesday said that Pakistan has become "bankrupt" and it was better to recognize reality than to be "living in illusion". Addressing a seminar at Hamdard University in Karachi, he said that everybody in the government was saying that everything was good, while according to him Pakistan was bankrupt at the moment.
Using the accounting term 'going concern' — which means that a business is operating and making a profit — as a reference point, Zaidi said, "We keep saying that everything is good, the country is running well, we have achieved great success and we brought tabdeeli (change) but this is wrong. In my view, the country is, at the moment, bankrupt and not a going concern.”
Zaidi further said, "It is better if you decide first that we have reached bankruptcy and we have to move forward compared to saying everything is running well and I will do this and that. These are all things to deceive the people,” as reported by Dawn.
However, after his controversial statement, Zaidi tweeted that his statement was “misreported” and only a three-minute portion was “cherry picked.” Agreeing that he had said that bankruptcy was related to other concerned issues, Zaidi said that we should also look at solutions.
“My speech in Hamdard University is being misreported. There was a presentation of half & hour. Only three minutes have been cherry picked. Yes I said that with this constant current account & fiscal deficit there are issues of bankruptcy & going concern but look at the solution.”
His tweet further read, “What I said was with a basis & conviction. I only want to say that whole speech is to read and listened,” reported Dawn.
Zaidi served as FBR chairman in the government of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan from May 10, 2019 to January 6, 2020, as reported by PTI.