KARACHI – Chairman of National Business Group of FPCCI, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Friday said pandemic has reduced inflation in many countries due to contracted demand barring Pakistan where it has crossed all the limits to make life difficult for the masses.
He said that now masses are unable to withstand continued price shocks at a time when their income has been squeezed.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that agreement with the IMF for achieving impossible tax targets was a mistake for which the nation is paying the price while economy is facing problems.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that coronavirus has damaged economic activities resulting in reduced demand and an average reduction of 3 to 4 percent in many countries but it is another way around in Pakistan due to the absence of any control.
Now masses are not able to tolerate price shocks as their real income have already gone down with a rapid pace, he added.
The business leader said that revenue deal with IMF was a blunder as the authorities ignored expansion in the tax net to increase pressure on the existing taxpayers while the government adopted strategy to increase energy tariff and petroleum prices which is an easy way out.
Masses are being informed about the increase in exports but the authorities are silent about volume imports, he said, adding that the July-December deficit has remained 1.8 percent which was 1.6 percent over the corresponding period.
Forex reserves have jumped to 13 billion dollars up to Jan 20 as compared to last year’s 11.7 billion dollars but it is attributed to the loans.
He said that growth rate for the the ongoing year may not surpass 1.5 percent while the inflation will cross the target of 6.5 percent to reach 13 percent.
He said that masses are not interested in figures and they need real relief which is not in sight.
