President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi has said that the government is seriously striving to revive the economy and improve living standard of the masses and these selfless efforts will come to fruition soon. He said this, talking to a delegation of the business community led by president of Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) Mian Zahid Hussain who called on him.
President Alvi said that economic revival was impossible without facilitating private sector to enable them to boost production, exports and create jobs. According to Mian Zahid, they were told by President of Pakistan that investment-friendly environment was topmost priority since it was imperative for economic progress and prosperity.
Alvi said private sector generate resources necessary for national development and improvement in the social sector. He asked the business community to focus on exports which was essential for economic stability of the country. He appreciated the services of the business community and said they should put in more efforts to play a leading role in uplifting the economy.
The delegation discussed the increasing cost of doing business and gave proposals to boost exports. They expressed concern over exchange rate erosion and rising inflation, drew the president's attention towards the stock market, raised issues confronting commercial exporters and discussed Karachi Safe City Project. They also gave suggestions to improve the business environment and supported the upcoming amnesty scheme terming it imperative for national development.
However, they said that higher tax should be avoided in the amnesty scheme and it should be made easy to avail. They proposed the scheme should be free of complexities enabling the government to raise revenue and expand the tax net. The delegation supported the government policy aimed at discouraging luxuries in order to cut import bill. The PBIF delegates expressed concern over the trade deficit and receding forex reserves which, they apprehended, could compromise the country's ability to effectively deal with IMF.
The delegation comprised of Zakaria Usman, Shaukat Ahmed, Shaukat Hussain Vohra, Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, Haji Sheikh Muhammad Shafique, Haji Abdul Ghani Usman, Shahid Anwal, Qamar Anwal, Javaid Essani, Shabbir Hassan Mansha Churra, Sheikh Sultan Rehman, Shakeel Ahmed, Aamir Shafique, Ali Zahid and others.
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