Islamabad, Oct 4 (PTI) Former finance minister Miftah Ismail has termed Pakistan's growth model as topsy-turvy that only facilitates the top 1 per cent of the country's elite.

Last month, Ismail stepped down from his post to make way for senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar to take over the reins of the country's cash-strapped economy that is reeling under the onslaught of the cataclysmic floods.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Speaks to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky Over Phone, Conveys India's Readiness for Peace Effort.

Speaking at an awards ceremony organised by the Management Association of Pakistan in Karachi on Monday, Ismail said there's “something very wrong” with Pakistan.

“The 1 per cent elite controls this country,” the Dawn newspaper quoted Ismail as saying.

Also Read | US Job Openings Sink Amid Higher Rates and Slower Growth in August 2022.

“The government has given Rs570 billion worth of loans to them at 1% interest rate to import machinery, however, they also ordered consumables for themselves and their families from abroad, thus inflating the import bill,” Business Recorder newspaper quoted him as saying.

“When the economy heats up, it is the lower-and middle-income groups that face the brunt as companies lay off employees,” the former minister noted.

Citing the example of US billionaires Bill Gates and Steve Jobs who came from nothing and yet built a fortune by dint of their talent, he lamented that almost all rich Pakistanis are beneficiaries of generational wealth.

The liquidity injection increased imports of machinery and widened the current account deficit because local business groups produced goods for domestic consumption only, he said.

Without taking names, he said a conglomerate requested his support for setting up a 500,000-tonne factory of polypropylene while he was the finance minister, according to the report.

They demanded a 20 per cent duty protection for 20 years because, in Ismail's words, the corporation couldn't compete against its Chinese counterparts.

He criticised the auto sector for its inward-looking approach that's been draining foreign exchange on imports for decades without generating any dollar earnings through exports, the report said.

He mocked the auto sector for finally exporting “carpets” used in vehicles to Egypt upon his insistence, it added.

Ravaged by the floods that have killed over 1,700 and displaced over 33 million, Pakistan's teetering economy is facing a balance of payments crisis, a ballooning current account deficit, and inflation hitting an all-time high of 27 per cent.

The US on Friday unveiled a roll-over agreement to suspend payments of USD 132 million of Pakistan's debt.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)