PESHAWAR:* Advisor to the *Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muzzammil Aslam, has dismissed the federal government’s assertions of economic improvement, citing alarming trends in *electricity production and industrial output.
In a statement issued on *Monday, Aslam highlighted that **Pakistan recorded its lowest electricity production in February 2025, marking the weakest output since **February 2020, when the economy was reeling from *post-COVID-19 impacts. Additionally, the large-scale manufacturing (LSM) sector contracted by 1.8% in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, with January alone witnessing a negative growth of 1.2%.
Aslam cautioned that the recent hike in gas tariffs for captive power units could further dampen industrial activity, exacerbating the decline in demand, purchasing power, and export competitiveness.
Despite the government’s projected *3.1% GDP growth for FY 2024-25, Aslam expressed **serious doubts, warning that *Pakistan may struggle to achieve even 1% growth due to the *continued downturn in large-scale manufacturing and agriculture
