Syed Fakhar Imam (Federal Minister): The speech of the President at the joint session of National Assembly and Senate is a tradition to mark the beginning of new year of the government. President Dr. Arif Alvi in his speech touched upon almost every sector and efforts of the government to boost these. He talked about industrial, IT, agriculture and other areas. The GDP growth under the incumbent government has reached at 4%. Record bumper crops were witnessed in the country this year. There are five major crops in the country including wheat, cotton, sugarcane, citrus, rice and some others. During the past few years, Pakistan managed to improve the exports in these crops. The mango export increased from 110,000 tons to 142,000 tons. Agriculture sector has contributed to a great extent in the GDP growth of Pakistan. The present government has also provided subsidies on fertilizers. The middle class and small farmers have also been provided loans on easy terms and conditions to motivate them to increase production. President also touched upon the foreign policy of Pakistan as well. The world has acknowledged the narrative of Pakistan on the Afghan issue. The United States also realized the ground reality and withdrew from Afghanistan. Pakistan and other stakeholders must support the new Afghan government to avert the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country. Moreover, the present government has taken certain measures to mitigate the effects of climate change. Billion Tree Tsunami is a landmark initiative of the government in this regard. 

Dr. Shahid Hassan Siddiqui (Economist): President Dr. Arif Alvi in his parliamentary address has rightly stated that economy of Pakistan is on the right track. The foreign reserves of the country are now stable but unfortunately the rupee is under pressure against dollar. In the current regional situation, Pakistan has got a golden opportunity to strengthen its economy. China is an emerging economic power with foreign reserves in trillions of dollars. China has expressed willingness to invest in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO forces. Moreover, the Taliban government has also expressed willingness to be a part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor project. It will benefit the economy of Pakistan as well. However, there are some threats from Israel, India and the United States that are continuously making efforts to sabotage this game changing project. With the completion of CPEC, Pakistan will be a trade hub in the region. After coming into power, the Afghan Taliban have ensured the neighboring countries that Afghan soil would not be used against any other country. The exports of Pakistan will improve along with the improvement in foreign investment. The GDP growth of Pakistan is 3.94% which is more than expected. The international ranking of Pakistan in Ease of Doing Business has also improved to a great extent which is highly encouraging. 

Mirza Ikhtiyar Baig (Economist): The initial two years of the government were very challenging as the policies were designed on test and trial basis. The mark-up was increased to 13.25% that resulted in increase of inflation at fast pace. But the government after learning from its mistakes reviewed the economic policies and took mark-up back to 7%. Our foreign reserves have jumped to a record level and are stable now. However, value of rupee depreciated against dollar. Our remittances have improved, and current account deficit has declined. The tax revenue collection was unprecedented and ever higher. In my opinion, there are some sectors upon which the government has to focus. We need to control our debt, and maintain demand and supply mechanism. The government should also focus on financial health of ailing institutions like WAPDA, Railways, and Pakistan Steels Mill. There is a need to control the current account deficit and steps must be taken to decrease trade deficit as well. The government must encourage exports and discourage imports.