(March 27-2023)
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 Pakistan has placed too much trust in international institutions and friendly countries as a result of which the economy and people are suffering.
The IMF wants Pakistan to take loan guarantees from friendly countries and present a plan for economic reforms to complete the ninth review, after which the staff-level agreement can be finalized, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that politicians should put aside their bickering and come up with a consensus on the Charter of Economy or an alternative plan otherwise economic reforms would not become a reality.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that everything except the nuclear program has already been pledged. The country’s economy is constantly deteriorating and it has become difficult for the people to manage food.
In this situation, the charter of the economy or alternative plan has become indispensable which should not be delayed.
The business leader said that people who were considered prosperous a few years ago have now become miserable, while middle-class families have reached the brink.
He observed that the arrival of Ramadan has increased inflation due to which the people are suffering more.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the conditions of the country’s economy are getting worse, the rupee is weakening day by day while the value of the dollar is increasing.
The country can go bankrupt at any time, but some politicians are making the situation worse by playing politics of hatred and anarchy even in these situations.
The situation is continuously deteriorating due to the increasing political disturbances, which international institutions and friendly countries are also watching silently.
If the politicians still don’t show their senses, the country’s economy will continue to sink further into the quagmire.
Mian Zahid Hussain added that it is difficult to rein in the elite under these circumstances. Efforts should be made to bring stolen funds back to the country so that the debts can be paid and the people can get some relief, whose purchasing power is decreasing with each passing day.
