State Bank Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain, on Saturday said that "our system provides leverage" to the privileged class but deprives the poor of their basic rights. He suggested major surgery of the system so that its evils could be eliminated once for all to put in place a society based on honesty, merit, truth and professionalism. He was addressing as chief guest a pre-budget seminar organised by a local newspaper here. He termed disparity between the rich and the poor as a serious social evil and noted that this was high time to say goodbye to injustices and introduce an equality-based society to make everybody feel that he/she is as important a member as anybody else.
He said: "If I go to a hospital, everybody there will run for my service; but no one would take care if a poor man is taken there." He strongly demanded elimination of unjust system to make the poor feel that they were as important member of the society as any other VVIP. Dr Ishrat said the culture of thana and kutchery was making the people''s lives miserable in rural areas, and its continuity would mean more miseries and terrible difficulties for the downtrodden segment of the society.
The governor said: "I have been to rural areas many times. It''s my experience that income of the people in remote areas is increasing, but they are being crushed by the culture of thana and kutchery. Honestly speaking, the people in rural areas are fixed-up mentally and physically by this decades-old culture based on inequality and injustice."
He reminded that Islam neither allows disparity among the poor and rich nor any system that gives priority to someone over others just on the basis of social status or wealth.
Dr Ishrat said: "As Muslims, it is our duty to know that if our neighbour is not having what he requires to live a comfortable life that must be given them quietly."
He noted that Islam makes Muslims duty-bound to take care and help the neighbours without making announcement, if they needed helping hand.
He said the national consensus on continuity of economic policies was a must to sustain current rate of growth. He cited China as an example, saying that Beijing took a firm decision in 1980 that it would pursue market-based economy to compete in the world. He said the continuity of the economic policies is now paying good dividend to China.
He strongly supported implementation of merit-based policy to provide opening to all segments of the society. The government, he said, introduced the merit for banking system, which helped it get competent and deserving youths.
He said those days are gone by when jobs were given on the recommendations of MPs. He added that this is an age of competition and only fittest would survive.
Adviser to prime minister on Finance and Revenue, Dr Salman Shah, said the government would provide relief to the poor in the forthcoming budget. He said the benefit of high growth rates would trickle down to help the people live better life in the coming years.
He said that the forthcoming budget would provide incentives to industrial sector. He added that next year''s education, health, higher education budget has been increased substantially.
The adviser said high growth in 2004-05 was the outcome of good economic policies.
Dr Kamal, Senator Khurshid, FPCCI chief Saeed and Al Warid Telecom CEO Hamid Farooq also addressed the seminar and urged the government that it should give incentives to those sectors, which are playing key role in boosting the national economy. They listed agriculture, IT and Telecom and industrial sector in particular.
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