PM Imran Khan's govt has been making claims about its economic performance based on the improvement on current account and increase in exports. The claims are misleading as the hard data (source: State Bank & IMF) indicates and as shown in this graph. Facts are as follows: 1/n

During the full year 2020, compared to 2017:
Exports were lower by $2.1bn to $27.4bn
Imports were lower by $13.4bn to $51bn
Remittances were higher by $6.2bn to $26bn
Improvement in the Current Account Balance was entirely due to the fall in imports, due to 2/n

drop in the investments and exceptional rise in the remittances as the hawala business collapsed due to Covid-19. Contrary to the tall claims about exports, their level in 2020 was still lower compared to each of the past years, that is, during 2017, 2018 & 2019. Last point: 3/n

The PTI govt cannot claim credit for rising remittances. They have soared by 35% in Bangladesh whose fx reserves have hit a record level of $43 billion. Overall, the PTI govt has done a poor job of stimulating growth & containing inflation. The data speaks for itself. 4/4

Notes: Exports/Imports include both goods & services. The data is for calendar years, not fiscal years and is based on the data available on the State Bank of Pakistan’s website https://www.sbp.org.pk/ecodata/BPM6_c.xls & also IMF https://data.imf.org/?sk=7A51304B-6426-40C0-83DD-CA473CA1FD52&sId=1542635306163