Hoarding of dollar: land mafia, currency players behind PKR devaluation: FCCI chief

Hoarding of dollar for profit by land mafia and currency players is the root cause of depreciation of Pak rupee and government must deal these anti-Pakistan elements with an iron hand, said Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) president Syed Zia Alumdar Hussain.
Addressing a press conference along with the representatives of other major trade organisations of the city, he told that last year, he had claimed that at least 5 billion decrease is expected in trade deficit within a period of only one year due to the prudent measures taken by the government. Quoting recent statistics, he told that during first ten months of this government the trade deficit has been reduced to $7.8 billion from $12.42 billion.
"This figure is exactly in according to our estimation", he told and added that during the remaining two months of this year, we are expecting further reduction of another 2 billion dollars. "In these circumstances our dependence of dollar was to be plummeted", he asserted and claimed that present crisis has been prompted by speculators who hoarded dollars to create financial crisis in the country.
He termed this act as worst type of financial 'terrorism' and said these elements are not only enemies of the business community but also of Pakistan. He said government must take these elements to task by awarding them immediate and detrimental punishment.
Syed Zia appreciated the campaign launched by various Pakistani TV channels to promote the slogan "Be Pakistani, buy Pakistani products." He said a stable currency is prerequisite for a stable economy and in order to strengthen Pak rupee, we must discourage foreign products which are imported by spending precious foreign exchange.
Continuing FCCI president told that last year we imported edible oil of worth $3 billion despite of the fact that we have its local substitute. He said government must also take proper measures to discourage such unnecessary burden of national economy. He further said apart from judiciary, parliament and executive, journalism is the fourth major pillar of the state and it must point out the discrepancies in policy making by the government so that appropriate, corrective and remedial measures could be taken.
Responding to a question, he agreed that government should also clamp complete ban on the import of unnecessary and luxurious items in addition to motivating people to discourage the use of imported products. Responding to another question, he said oil facility at deferred payment from Saudi Arabia will be a boon as it will help to stabilize Pak economy. He said we should make our budget in according to the income generated last year. If we were able to collect taxes to the tune of Rs 4,000 billion, we have no justification to present a budget exceeding our actual receipt of last year.
Central Chairman of the All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA) Engr Rizwan Ashraf told that most of industrial raw material is imported from abroad and our cost of production has been increased by 35 percent due to appreciation of dollar. However, we must reign in dollar to control this unwarranted situation.
Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) chairman Kahsif Zia urged upon the journalists to play their role in making viral the slogan "Give respect to Pakistani rupee".
FCCI SVP Mian Tanveer Ahmed termed depreciation of Pak rupee as a financial terrorism which has destabilised our economy. He said nation must stand united to face this critical situation. He said that despite of reduced trade deficit, our loans have increase from 600 to 700 billion Rupees in addition to triggering inflation. He said that nation should be convinced to discourage purchase of imported goods and rather take pride in purchasing and using made in Pakistan products.
Jawwad Asghar from yarn market declared that dollar is controlled by State Bank of Pakistan and hence it should issue necessary instructions to concerned banks and exchange dealers not to sell out dollars to any non-filer.
Rana Sikandar-e-Azam, representing traders, claimed that dollar game is played by the only 2 percent minority who has huge and surplus financial resources. "We must educate them to love Pakistan instead of only minting money", he added. Syed Zia Alumdar Hussain thanked the journalist community for playing a proactive role in this situation and sensitizing masses to use only Pakistani products.