Agri Forum Pakistan Chairman, Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal has advised the government to pay attention towards increasing the agricultural production and value addition to bridge the gap between imports and exports. While talking to media persons here Thursday, Mughal said that government expenses were not in control of the present rulers.
The non-developmental expenditures in 1999 were around rupees 547 billion, which have reached Rs 2,315 billion in year 2011-12. It is 323 percent increase and the government has to rely on loans for development expenditures, which would push the poverty graph upward, he added.
Mughal alleged that the gap between import and exports is Rs 400 billion for the last many years which has now reached Rs 1,300 billion in year 2011-12. He suggested that Pakistan should have to increase its agricultural production and pay attention to value-addition to bridge this gap.
He feared that there would be not a single penny to spend on developmental side if non-developmental expenses continue to increase at the present pace. It would hike poverty in the country, freeze the economic growth, minimise job opportunities and create sky touching inflation, he added. Agri Forum Chairman advised the government to mend his ways and immediately decrease non-developmental expenses by 50 percent.