PESHAWAR: Business community in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa asked the government to take pragmatic steps to revive sick and non-operational industrial units to boost up industrialization and create more job opportunities in the province.
Traders demanded the State Bank of Pakistan to issue instructions to commercial banks to facilitate them and enhance the ratio of lending in the province like other parts of the country.
The traders made these demands during a meeting chaired by acting president of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Imran Khan Mohmand on occasion of a visit of the delegation of officers of 3rd Senior Management Course, Kashmir Institute of Management (KIM), Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir here the chamber’s house.
Javed Akhtar, vice president of the chamber, Zahindullah Shinwari, Faiz Muhammad Faizi, SCCI’s former presidents, Directing General KIM, Muzaffarabad Brig (Retd) Syed Akhtar Hussain Shah, Senior Directing Staff, Brig Muhammad Irfan (retd), Additional Secretary Industries, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Umara Khan were keynote speakers on the occasion.
Besides, members of the SCCI’s executive committee include Ghulam Hussain, Minhajuddin, Naeem Qasmi, Muhammad Tariq, Muhammad Aurangzeb and Abdul Hakim Shinwari, Fazal e Wahid, Ihsanullah, Shams Rahim and Fahad Amin, a large number traders, industrialist and exporters were present during the meeting.
Zahindullah Shinwari during the meeting briefed the visiting delegation senior officers of AJK and other participants regarding key-objectives, relief initiatives, important rules and regulations, memberships, major achievements and future plan/programme comprehensively.
Ex-senior office bearer of the chamber went on to say that SCCI, being the third prime chamber of Pakistan, had played a pivotal role in the resolve of the business community, industrialization and economic growth.
Shinwari in reply to a query of a senior officer said KP business and trade are mostly dependent on Afghanistan and onward regional countries. However, he noted, bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has remained downward over the past many years due to some unpleasant events.
Furthermore, he noticed the decline in Pak-Afghan mutual trade has also brought negative impacts on the country’s economy. He stressed the need for joint initiatives at government level to remove hurdles in Pak-Afghan bilateral trade.
Imran Mohmand, acting president SCCI in his opening remarks stated bureaucracy has played a vital role to establish liaison between government and business community and prime/direct source for amicable resolution of the community issues.
He urged the senior officers on the occasion that they should frame economic policies with consultation of the business community to produce positive and desirable results. He urged the federal and provincial government to take proactive steps to promote industrialization in the province.
Commenting on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the chamber acting chief said the CPEC is a game changer, which would bring economic prosperity and development in the whole region. Besides, he added the multi-billion dollar project would also promote regional trade.
Imran Mohmand said rich natural deposits and reserves were available in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in which there were vast opportunities for investment. However, he said these natural resources of KP were untapped efficiently.
He claimed that KP has the capacity to generate 50,000 megawatt electricity, which would be important to overcome the current energy crisis in the country. He noted industrial growth has slowed down because of the prevailing electricity and gas crisis.
Earlier, the KIM Directing General, Syed Akhtar Hussain also spoke and thanked the SCCI for inviting the officers of senior management course and apprising them about important information about the chamber.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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