A record increase in trade deficit, persisting high inflation and sharp rise in loans are major areas of concern as these factors are not only increasing poverty but also multiplying problems of common man.
These views were expressed by PIAF chairman Mian Abuzar Shad, vice chairmen Irfan Qaiser and Khamis Saeed Butt while talking to newsmen here on Monday in reaction to the SBP report.
The PIAF leaders maintained that high increase in trade deficit was making the forex reserves weightless and this indicates that Pakistan is fast becoming a big consumer market instead of a manufacturing destination.
They called for adopting urgent measures to strengthen agriculture and industrial sectors of the country. They said that there is a need to bring down the cost of doing business in the country, as the same was rendering the Pakistani goods non-competitive in the global market.
"A visible decrease in rate of large-scale manufacturing from 15.6 percent to 9 percent is a negative trend, which needs to be checked immediately. Ground realities call for immediate action from the concerned quarters otherwise the situation would be out of hands in coming years," they added.