Speakers at a seminar on Monday called for immediate measures to arrest the growing public debt and widening trade deficit. The pre-budget seminar was organised by the Southern Regional Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) at a local hotel here.
The speakers included Adnan Zafar, Partner, Avais Hyder Liaquat Nauman Chartered Accountants; Dr Shahid Hassan Siddiqui, Chairman, Research Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance; Syed Shabbar Zaidi, former president ICAP; Adnan Mufti, Chairman, SRC ICAP and Syed Najmul Hussain.
The speakers were of the view that the country had transformed from developing to a security state. The public debt, which stood at Rs 3,200 billion in the last government, had increased to Rs 12,800 billion during the last four years, they added. They warned that the budget deficit was going to escalate to Rs 1,200 billion and the trade deficit would also touch the mark of $20 billion in the ongoing fiscal year.
The speakers regretted that tax evasion, under-invoicing and corruption in public sector entities had cost Rs 3,100 billion to the national exchequer. They urged the authorities concerned to take remedial measures for the growth in tax-to-GDP, savings and investments. The country was facing serious crisis because of the economic mismanagement and it would remain relentless until the authorities did not pour at least Rs 800 billion into the economy, the experts added.