Adversaries of Pak-China friendship must vanquish: Mian Zahid Hussain.

Karachi (November-01-2024) The Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, the President of the Pakistan
Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, the President of All Karachi Industrial Alliance,the Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board, and the President and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain, said on Friday that the State Bank shouldn't be overly cautious while announcing upcoming monetary policy. He said that the interest rate ought to be decreased by at least five percent at the meeting of the monetary policy committee on November 4. Mian Zahid Hussain said that adversaries of the friendship between Pakistan and China
should be decisively defeated. Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that reducing interest rates will cut business costs. He added that a reduction in interest rates will restore economic activity, which will increase employment and government revenue. Mian Zahid Hussain said that the central bank should not be too cautious and should not reduce the interest rate by one and a half to two percent but by at least five percent. The fear of an increase in imports and some other problems are obstacles, but even by significantly reducing the interest rate; imports can be kept under control so that the balance of payments can be maintained, he observed. Mian Zahid Hussain said that the average inflation for the next year will likely be between 7 to 8 percent, so unnecessary caution should not be taken. The IMF has said that the State Bank should gradually relax the interest rate, which will help economic development. He noted that the central bank is concerned that an unnecessary increase in imports may put pressure on the currency, leading to a crisis that would result in unnecessary caution. Mian Zahid Hussain said that the enemies of friendship between Pakistan and China have
done a lot of damage, so they should be decisively defeated by taking vigorous action against them.
The investment of billions of dollars in CPEC is not going down well with the enemy countries, due to which they are trying to obstruct the process by attacking the Chinese citizens. There are concerns in China regarding attacks on Chinese citizens and deaths in terrorist incidents in Pakistan, which must be resolved soon. Mian Zahid Hussain said that the Chinese ambassador is correct that the security issues of Chinese citizens are the biggest obstacle to advancing the CPEC. China wants strict measures against terrorists, but it also understands the problems of Pakistan and the issues it faces in controlling terrorism. The Chinese ambassador has also said that the two countries can jointly crack down on terrorists, which must be  considered. Mian Zahid Hussain further said that the FBR also failed to achieve the tax revenue target in October and could collect Rs 878 billion against the target of Rs 980 billion. Overall, in the first quarter of the current financial year, the tax target has fallen short by Rs 194 billion, the solution of which lies in finding new taxpayers instead of increasing the burden on the existing taxpayers. He said cracking down on tax evasion is impossible without digitalizing the economy.