Economic Self-Reliance Is Real Freedom, Miftah Responds To Tarin.

ISLAMABAD -- Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail said Saturday that the real freedom means ecoAnomic self-reliance, without which the concept of freedom and self-reliance is not achieved. The PTI government took 79pc external debt out of the total debt taken in the counAtry's history, he said. The fedAeral minister said this in a live press conference at Pakistan Television. The finance minisAter said, during the PTI tenure Pakistan's imports jumped up to US$80 billion while the trade deficit reached at $48 billion, which is a record in the country's history. Miftah wondered how PTI could talk about real freedom without achieving economic self-sufAficiency. He said that former finance minister Shaukat Tarin's Saturday's press conAference differs from the facts.Miftah said that the former PTI government was leadAing the country towards deAfault and the Muslim League government under the leadAership of...