President of Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) Mian Zahid Hussain has expressed concern on critical economic situation of the country urging the relevant government authorities to concentrate on increase in export volume. He said that Pakistan heavily depended on the remittances but policy-makers shouldn't link everything with the economic slowdown in the oil-producing countries. He urged them to take pain to ascertain the reasons.
"Property market has become dormant while many expatriates have lost interest in the realty market which has resulted in reduced remittances," he argued pointing out the fact that the stake-holders had not accepted the steps taken by the government to regulate the property market. He said investment in the property market was falling to an extent that it began shrinking economy.
He said it was shocking that home remittances dropped by 5.4 percent in the first quarter. He said Pakistan couldn't afford a drop of $267 million during these times when investment and exports were falling. "Fall in the remittances will widen the trade-deficit which has already broadened to almost thirty percent in the first quarter amounting to over $7 billions," he said adding that the country fetched foreign direct investment (FDI) amounting to $249 million during the first quarter compared to $403 million during the first quarter of last financial year registering a decrease $154 million or 38 percent.
He said that exports of services witnessed a decline of over 31% in the first two months of the current fiscal year as it fell to $712.75 million in July-August from $1,040.21 million recorded in the same months of the last financial year. "This grave economic condition calls for some corrective actions that cannot be delayed," he said expressing surprise that relevant government official was trying to abuse the critics instead of taking needed actions to increase export. He urged those officials to resign if they could not increase export, as they promised.