(February 10-2023) Former President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt on Friday said politicians should not focus on ‘Jail Bharo’ but try to fill the stomachs of the poor.
In the current alarming situation, the politicians who are responsible for the destruction of the economy are planning the agitation, he said.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that the poster boy of the previous government delayed the deal with the IMF until he was removed from office in April 2019.
The country was grappling with the crisis due to the wrong policies but the Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh was dismissed and Hammad Azhar was given the charge, after which a former banker was given the portfolio of the Finance Ministry for the sake of artificial development.
The banker cum finance minister started a new crisis by avoiding improving the economy and doling out packages to the billionaires, which did not give the people anything, but the growth rate became six percent.
Foreign exchange reserves decreased by fifty percent, while the value of the rupee decreased by seven percent due to the policies of the former government, he informed.
Mr. Butt said that those who came after him did more damage to the economy instead of taking corrective measures.
He said that it has become a tradition that every outgoing government leaves such serious problems that do not allow the new government to function.
Every new government has to knock on the door of the IMF to survive, he said, adding that the PTI government has shown the worst economic performance while PML-N also damaged the economy.
PTI and PML-N boasted a six percent growth rate during their tenure, but this growth rate had nothing to do with investment, industry, and revenue.
Rather, it was the result of showering resources of the country on the elite. Until the people wake up, the process of showering the national resources on the elite in Pakistan will continue, he said.
