(January 30-2023)
Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said a hike of Rs35 per liter in the price of petrol and diesel was unpleasant but unavoidable.
The country has not seen such a serious financial crisis in its entire history and the government was trying its best to tame it, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the government has reduced the trade deficit by 8 billion dollars in the first half of the year by administratively stopping imports, resulting in a trade deficit of 17 billion dollars in the first six months of the current financial year compared to 25 billion dollars in the previous year.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that the dollar can jump to Rs300 which can jack up inflation to 35 percent but on the other hand remittances, exports and government revenues will also increase.
The increased revenue should be used for public welfare schemes and direct subsidies to protect the poor from inflation so that people are not forced to buy substandard items from utility stores, he added.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that consideration should also be given to increasing the amount of subsidy so that the poor people can buy the goods from the shops of their choice, thus the government can not only save funds but also increase its political capital.
The business leader said that about one million Pakistanis living abroad send two and a half billion dollars (650 billion rupees) to their relatives in Pakistan every month, from which 50 million people benefit.
Pakistan can become economically self-sufficient if the money of expatriates can be used wisely, he underlined.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that currently there are serious threats to exports, so the Ministry of Commerce should plan to align the business cost of Pakistani exporters with the cost of exporters of competing countries.
Government should consider establishing an authority to tackle the problems of the exporters, he said.
Pakistan trades with all countries by sea except for the neighboring countries which is prone to risks so prompt payment of foreign shipping lines should be ensured otherwise Pakistan’s exports may be affected.
Pakistan spends up to five billion dollars annually on freight, while currently, the country’s foreign exchange volume is less than that.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the ongoing political crisis in the country is being deliberately turned into a financial crisis and some politicians are still engaged in the unholy practice.
The country needs an economic charter more than ever before. Pakistan has imported petroleum products worth ten billion dollars in the last six months, while the entire country can be switched to solar energy in just six months, which can also help get rid of electricity theft and line losses. Pakistan’s petroleum import bill can be halved and annual savings of ten billion dollars will be possible, he said.
