KARACHI: Zubair Tufail President United Business Group (UBG) has said that the Army Chief General Asim Munir’s meeting with of business leaders have shown a light in the darkness and it is a ray of hope that the country’s ailing economy is likely to be put on track very soon.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday at Karachi Press Club, Tufail said that the meeting of the business community with the Army Chief General Asim Munir was held in a positive atmosphere and the representatives of the business community gave suggestions to the Army Chief and discussed the current economic situation with him. During the meeting the Army Chief assured of immediate measures to prevent smuggling, he added.
He said that the discussions and orders given in the meeting of the business community with the Army Chief General Asim Munir have started yielding better results and a crackdown has started to prevent smuggling and dollar hoarding.
The nation is facing a lot of problems at the moment due to higher inflation and the reason for inflation is the increase in the value of the US dollar, he said and added that currently there is a huge difference between the inter-bank and open market that needs to be reduced.
During the last two days, the dollar rate in the open currency market has reduced rapidly, which means some action has been taken after the meeting with the Army chief, he mentioned.
He said that higher power tariff is directly hurting the industry, as well as, domestic customers. However, the contracts with the IPPs will expire soon and the government should renew the contracts on its own terms so that the nation can get some relief.
“We suggested that prices of food items must be controlled through administrative measures and institutions must play their role to stop smuggling as shortage of commodities in Afghanistan is not our matter” Tufail said.
He said that the traders, who are also involved in increasing this inflation, should stop the bad practices. “Rs 180 per kilogram price of sugar is unjustified, while the country has domestic production and sufficient stocks of around 1.8 million tons of sugar, which is enough for three and a half months.
“Pakistan is an agricultural country and we have massive stocks of wheat, flour, sugar, fertilizer and other commodities. However, these essential items are being smuggled into Afghanistan, due to which they are getting expensive in the local market. While, huge quantities of clothes, chemicals and other products are being smuggled from Afghanistan into Pakistan that is hurting the domestic industry, which is paying also billions of rupees taxes,” he mentioned.
However, Khalid Tawab Chairman UBG Sindh Region said that due to the deterioration of the country’s economy, industries are facing difficulties. Traders and industrialists are also worried about the hiked electricity bills. Some 40 percent of the industries are closed in Pakistan, but after the meeting with the Army Chief, there is a ray of hope, he added.
Tawab said that the situation is becoming worsened due to the increase in unemployment and steps must be taken immediately to bring the economy on the right track.
Hanif Gohar Secretary General UBG Sindh said that the government departments are responsible for the increase in the prices of food items and products. The Competition Commission did not play its role in stopping inflation and cartelisation, and when the relevant institutions were mobilized on the advice of the Army Chief, the dollar and sugar prices were dropped, immediately.
The business community will definitely give credit to the Army Chief, he said. He added that all institutions should play their role to stop smuggling.
Gohar demanded that the business community be represented in the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) created for investment because the private sector has an important role in the country’s economy.
On the occasion Mirza Akhtar Baig was also present.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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