'Quake to have minimal impact on economy'

The impact of earthquake on the national economy would be minimal, however, rehabilitation and reconstruction of buildings in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and northern areas would put pressure on the existing forests, which would lead to environmental degradation.
Former chief economist in the federal government Fasihuddin expressed these views, while talking to newsmen after the concluding session of two-day conference on "Trade in services: challenges and opportunities for Pakistan" here on Tuesday.
He said that wood was the most common used item in the construction of houses in such areas, for which the locals would turn to forests. It would be wise if other alternative materials were used for houses with the aim of conserving the forests, he added.
He said that our current expenditure would be increased due to huge cost of rehabilitation after the earthquake and would lead to budget deficit.
"However, since local economies of the quake-hit areas had little contribution in the economy, the impact on the GDP would be minimal. Moreover, rehabilitation work would give a boost to certain sectors of the economy and increase production of some sectors like construction," he added.
The former chief economist said that the earthquake would have a huge impact on the services sector in the quake-hit areas, like tourism that generated huge revenue, for many years. Moreover, rest of the country would also face shortage of labourers as a bulk of them came from these areas, he added.
Earlier, Adviser to the WTO Cell Inaamul Haque concluded the conference in the absence of Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Salman Shah, as he could not attend the conference due to an emergency.