KARACHI: Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, the President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board, Mian Zahid Hussain has said that the success of Donald Trump in the American elections could change the global scenario.
He said that before the elections, media analysts and think tanks assumed the victory of Kamala Harris was a certainty, which proved wrong. The US election results show that the public is fed up with America’s global role and Biden’s policies on the Middle East and Ukraine, and they don’t want more wars, he said.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that the US voters prefer Trump’s “America First” policy because of the economic situation and other problems.
He said President Trump will pay more attention to his country than other countries and will not interfere unnecessarily, nor will he play a biased role in any important matter. President Trump said he did not wage war in his previous term and will not do so now, which will be a positive change.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the former president left many issues for him, including the situation in the Middle East, the tension between Israel and Iran and the uncertainty of global trade. The US is in debt of $35 trillion, increasing by $1 trillion every three months. At the moment, social unrest, racial and political divisions, and discontent are growing, which will prove to be a significant challenge for the new president. The effects of his policy on China will also be felt around the world, and it is hoped that he will play a positive role in ending global conflicts and not push the world into new problems.
He said that the overall situation of America and the world will be a big test for President Trump. The new American President will not give importance to Pakistan, will not allow it to import gas or oil from Iran, and will not put any pressure on Pakistan to release any prisoners.
He said that the Ministry of Finance is happy because of the favourable financial situation for the first time in 24 years. However, this happened because of the high profit of the Central Bank, and the record petroleum levy has also played its role.
The central bank posted a historic surplus of Rs2.5 trillion from July to September, partly due to high interest rates.
He added that reports are currently doing the rounds that the IMF has called for a mini-budget to cover the shortfall in revenue as the FBR failed to meet the tax target for the first quarter. He said that there is a need to embrace the digital economy. Suppose the government fails to meet its targets. In that case, the international organization will end its programme, which will cause the government to increase taxes on wage earners and industries.
The situation may worsen as the government is not ready to tax the significant sectors of the economy. The government should investigate why the previous IMF programme ended and how close it brought the country to default. Now, there is no room to repeat this mistake, he warned.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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