LAHORE: The federal government should immediately cancel Saturday as weekly day off in banking and other government departments to avail the benefits of climbing up the position of Pakistan on Trading Across Border Index of the World Bank, said financial experts.

They have also urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to carry on its reform process after winning kudos from the World Bank for its Web-Based One Customs (WEBOC) electronic system. Talking to the Business Recorder, convener of trade committee at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Muhammad Arshad Chaudhry said two offs a week lead to wastage of precious time of the business community.

Therefore, he said, the government should cancel the weekly off of Saturday in banks.

He said Saturday was declared a day off to deal with the energy crisis in the country, and now the country had come out of that crisis. Now there was no need for keeping the banking sector and other departments closed on Saturdays, he said. Another financial expert, Asif Beg Mirza, advised the FBR not to be complacent after winning appreciation from the World Bank.

According to him, sustainable improvement in the working of the FBR was a must to ensuring ease of doing business on trade across the border.

Pakistan has climbed up 31 positions in the Trading Across Border Index in World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business 2020’.

Commenting on the achievement, Dr Zulfiqar Ahmed Bowra, Principal of the Hailey College of Commerce, said irresponsible statements from the leadership could hamper growth in investment in Pakistan.

While referring to the statement of a Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leader wherein he suggested to the people to loot food warehouses, he said such a behavior was always detrimental to the economy.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021