IT has already been confirmed that the government is thriving on the jugglery of figures.

The finance minister's antics already forced the State Bank governor to go home leaving the central bank blank.

Now there is a rumour that our export figures have touched the magical figure of $25bn. This is wrong.

The whole nation knows that due to power shortage all our industrial cities are lying idle or working at 25 per cent capacity. The floods also contributed to the decline in the production. We have few main sources of exports: rice, cotton, leather and leather goods, carpets, handicraft (marble and wooden), mango and perishable items like fish and shrimps, and newly added item of fresh meat.

In the second phase comes a wide range of engineering products beginning with fans and small machinery.

All the above items have their respective trade bodies/associations.

I urge upon these associations to come out with their comments and also tell us their projected export figures for 2010-11.

The State Bank can easily verify this much-trumpeted magical exports figures of $25bn, provided no (Zafar Qureshi) is transferred from the investigation.

The finance minister is requested to give us the breakdown of figures item-wise so that the respective associations of trade bodies can counter-check and expose the jugglery figure drama which has crept into the present government setup.

MOHAMMAD IQBAL Karachi