President-elect Asif Ali Zardari has emerged as most powerful man in the country and thus he should take immediate steps to bring the country out of the economic crisis. The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Muhammad Ali Mian said this while talking to newsmen here on Monday.
He congratulated Asif Ali Zardari for winning presidential election with thumping majority and said the newly elected president should hold meeting with the business community leaders across the country so that the country could be brought out of the economic and political crises.
All the four provinces have shown their confidence in him thus the President-elect should seek consensus on early construction of Kalabagh Dam which is a prime solution to more than 70 percent of Pakistan's economic problems which are because of the shortage of energy. The construction of Kalabagh Dam would not only bridge demand-supply gap through cheaper electricity to the masses but would also help remove growing financial difficulties of the government, he added.
The democracy has provided Asif Ali Zardari a chance to do some good for the nation. The country has not built a large dam in the past over three decades and is currently facing a shortage of nine million acre feet of water and more than 5000MW of electricity.
"This shortage will enormously compound in the coming years and only the construction of big dams like Kalabagh can help us cope with the situation", he added. "His name would be written in golden words, if the President-elect wins a consensus on Kalabagh Dam", Mian maintained.
The LCCI President said the law and order situation is another challenge that needs to be tackled by the government on priority basis. The US forces, across the western frontier, have threatened to continue their assaults and as such sovereignty of the country is at risk besides putting a question mark on the ability of the government to solve this issue. These attacks were not only tarnishing the image of the country but also discouraging the local and foreign investors to put their money in new project, he added.
Mian said the economic situation seems to be worsening with every passing day. The inflation is hitting every citizen hard by breaking all the previous records while the value of rupee is falling like anything and the foreign exchange reserves are touching the lowest ebb. Finding means to solve these problems is not very easy but one could find a solution if a process of consultation with the real stakeholders is initiated.