KARACHI: Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan and President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, Mian Zahid Hussain has said at present, a large part of the country’s population is spending most of their income on food, but they are not getting enough food.

We are lagging far behind India, Bangladesh, and dozens of other countries in terms of wealth distribution, human development, and economic improvement, and the situation is getting worse.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that even before the flood, forty percent of the children were stunted due to hunger and Pakistan had the highest number of out-of-school children, which is now increasing due to inflation.

He said the people of the three nuclear powers are suffering from hunger. The people of North Korea are facing starvation due to international sanctions, and millions of people in India are suffering from the government’s incompetence, war frenzy, religious fanaticism, and corruption, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the neighbouring country also has a large population that is not easy to feed while the people of nuclear Pakistan are suffering from the violation of the constitution, corruption, higher spending, political instability, and endless elitism.

He said that in view of the geographical importance of Pakistan, the attention of most governments has been focused on obtaining loans.

Pakistan received a lot of dollars due to the interest of powerful states in past but it was wasted instead of paying off the debt or using it for the country’s development, he said. The business leader noted that now in view of Pakistan’s strong economic and geographical potential, the world wants nuclear Pakistan to stand on its feet.

The world wants Pakistan to widen its tax base, privatize failed government institutions, and give full attention to energy, agriculture, and exports, he added.

Mian Zahid Hussain further said that how will a country which is struggling to borrow one billion dollars from the IMF will recover the losses of thirty-one billion dollars caused by the flood.

If the flood victims of 2022 are not helped, they will not be able to stand on their feet, as a result of which agricultural production will decrease further, food will become more expensive and the problem of food security in the country will intensify, he feared.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023