The Businessmen Panel (BMP) felicitated Imran Khan on his election as 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan and expressed hope that his government would ensure stable economy through effective policies which could help reduce trade deficit of the country.
BMP chairman Mian Anjum Nisar, vice chairman Sheikh Aslam, chairman (Capital Area) Riaz Khattak, KPK chairman Adnan Jalil, Balochistan chairman Mir Naveed Baloch, Punjab chairman Khawaja Shahzeb Akram and BMP secretary general (Federal) Ahmad Jawad said in a joint statement that Imran's new job would be much more daunting.
"Prime Minister Imran Khan has inherited economic woes, security threats and international isolation," said the joint statement, noting that India was increasing its clout in the region.
The BMP office bearers said that the country needed effective polices to ensure stability. In this regard, they said, the new prime minister would have to restructure system of the commerce ministry and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and assign comprehensive targets to Pakistan's commercial councillors to initiate trade diplomacy with new zeal around the world which is much-needed at this stage.
Despite their concerns, BMP officials agreed that the country's financial dependence on Beijing is likely to prevent any kind of major shift on Khan's dealings with China. They cited that Imran Khan had said "Pakistan needs to continue our bond with China and continue China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects. We need to use China as a source of inspiration to lift our people out of poverty."
They said the World Bank estimates that Pakistan's GDP growth rate would decline to 5 per cent in 2019 from 5.7 per cent in 2017. In 2018, Pakistan won't grow more than 5 per cent. In 2020, it would grow at 5.4 per cent - significantly lower than other South Asian nations such as India and Bangladesh. In 2017, Pakistan's per capita GDP grew by 3.6 per cent - again lower than India and Bangladesh but better than Sri Lanka.
They said that in 2016, almost 5 million children in Pakistan were out of school. They said the country has the lowest primary school enrolment rate in the region and it has more child labourers than other nations in the neighbourhood. They said labour participation rates are abysmal while it ranks 147 in the Ease of Doing Business Index - better than Bangladesh. They said that in many ways, what Imran Khan inheriting was a tinderbox waiting to explode.
Similarly, they said, one of the main thrusts is to turnaround Pakistan's inefficient state-owned enterprises by making them more autonomous with specialised boards of management that would be responsible for CEO appointments and running these enterprises especially TDAP)which was badly governed in the last government tenure.
They referred that in a 2014 report to the World Bank, the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance had estimated that there were 190 state-owned enterprises in Pakistan with just 16 of them representing a third of the market capitalisation of the Pakistan Stock Exchange. These enterprises were identified as inefficient, riddled with lethargic decision-making and prone to extreme political interference which has to be overcome in Naya Pakistan.
The BMP office bearers suggested that special measures should be announced for Overseas Pakistanis in order to facilitate their investments in Pakistan and protect their rights in the country which is vital as overseas Pakistanis has the golden basket for the country and with their help, we may increase our foreign reserves. They also viewed Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) may be revisited and announced properly after in-depth consultation of the private sector and industry officials.
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