Karachi : The Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board and National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, as well as former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain, said on Friday that Pakistan is gaining the confidence of the international community due to the efforts of the government and the army chief,
He said successfully holding the SCO conference will open new avenues for Pakistan’s economic development.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the Army Chief’s efforts to restore the confidence of the people and the business community have been very well received by the stakeholders.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that the government and the army chief’s efforts have reduced the smuggling of dollars and commodities and stopped the flight of capital from the country.
He observed that IPPs are being controlled, contracts with five IPPs have been canceled, which will save billions of rupees, and negotiations are underway with other IPPs.
The business leader said that the tax net is expanding, the economy is recovering, the rupee is stable, and foreign investors are investing in Pakistan.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Prime Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif and the Army Chief had accepted the challenge of restoring the country’s reputation and economy at a time when the economy was destroyed, jobs were lost, electricity bills were more than the people’s income, and many were fleeing the country.
Pakistan’s status in the international community was at the lowest ebb. Still, the army chief did not limit his plan to statements and speeches. Still, it took practical steps in the form of SIFC, which is being welcomed across the country and abroad.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the Army Chief is not ignorant of economic matters, but his grip on these issues is strong. He is not unrelated to the problems of the common man. He is cooperating with the government and the finance minister in every possible way, due to which the state of the country has started to change.
Now, the importers’ LCs are being opened, and the menace of under and over-invoicing is being eliminated. Investors are getting a reasonable rate on the dollar. Soldiers are sacrificing their lives, and the law and order situation is improving in major cities.
He said that pharma, agriculture, IT, and other sectors are developing, inflation is decreasing, there is a clear possibility of interest rate reduction, oil and gas reserves are being discovered, and the plan to bring the price of electricity to nine cents is being worked on.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that many investors who want to correct their sales and income tax returns need to be allowed to get their tax affairs fixed. Suppose the government takes steps to protect the capital of overseas Pakistanis from the property mafia, provide them with adequate opportunities and incentives to invest in other sectors and protect them from cheaters. In that case, they can flood Pakistan with dollars.
