Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance and Former Provincial Minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said rising oil prices are affecting energy security, food security, and global GDP.
Inflation and poverty are on the rise across the globe while the global economy is heading for a recession which will hit billions of people, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the European Union’s desire to end its dependence on Russian oil and gas is a dream that has nothing to do with reality.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that the situation could improve if Iran was allowed to enter the global oil market.
The war and sanctions are costing Russia billions of dollars daily but at the same time rising oil prices are rapidly increasing Russia’s resources which is reducing the impact of sanctions, he observed.
He noted that oil-exporting countries have turned a blind eye to the world’s problems in the pursuit of profit.
The dispute between Russia and Ukraine is thousands of miles away from Pakistan and our bilateral trade is insignificant with the two countries but the effects of war are severely affecting Pakistan’s economy.
Pakistan’s economic recovery process is affected and the deficit is increasing due to rising oil and commodity prices.
Europe’s preference for the use of LNG is pushing up its price further, which will increase the cost of power production in Pakistan as expensive resources have to be used for power generation.
The central bank is also said to be under pressure to increase interest rates which will further affect the economy and increase the pressure on private enterprises and they will either have to increase their wages or have to retrench staff.
Mian Zahid Hussain further said that the government would have to incur additional expenditure to ensure energy and food security which would further affect its financial position. The plan to build a gas pipeline with the help of Russia will hang for years.
