LAHORE: President Pakistan Ex-Service Persons Society, Chairman Pakistan China Trade and President Pakistan Youth Council Lt-General Abdul Qayyum Malik (retd) has said that although Pakistan has been facing lack of leadership, yet Pakistan is the best country on the world map. Pakistan can join the ranks of developed nations by leveraging its resources and capabilities.
He was addressing a meeting at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). Acting President Zafar Mahmood Chaudhry, Vice President of SAARC Chamber Mian Anjum Nisar, Former Vice President Fahim ur Rahman Sehgal, former Senior Vice Presidents Khawaja Khawar Rashid and Amjad Ali Jawa also spoke on this occasion.
Lieutenant General Abdul Qayyum (retd) said that work cannot be done in isolation, it is necessary to respect the opinion of the people. He said that chambers play a key role in all developed countries of the world.
The secret of China’s development is its economic zones, due to which it has lifted 70 crore people out of the poverty line.
He said that chambers aim to act as a bridge between the government and the people. Lahore Chamber is a hundred years old institution and has a huge contribution in the country’s economy.
He said that after the formation of Pakistan, the leader died soon due to which we faced problems.
He said that at present our biggest problem is balance of payments (BoP). The previous government had introduced Vision 2035 which talked about five Es - including export, environment and E-Pakistan etc.
He said that our main industry is agriculture. Despite having a production capacity of 23 million cotton bales, Pakistan is producing eight million bales. We have a mining capacity of six trillion dollars which we have not been able to use. Defense production is the largest foreign exchange earner in the world. At present we have the best aircraft and weapons manufacturing industry.
Apart from this, we can earn a lot of foreign exchange in the tourism sector as well. He said that there are 90 lakh Pakistanis in other countries, if they were sent with technical skills, our remittances would be doubled.
No country develops because of natural resources but because of knowledge economy. LCCI Acting President Zafar Mahmood Chaudhry said that the country is currently facing serious internal and external challenges regarding economy, society and geopolitics.
He said that the policy of privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills and other loss-making public sector enterprises. Privatization of these public sector enterprises is necessary as these institutions have become a burden on the national exchequer and it has become impossible to run them like this.
He said that the Lahore Chamber has drafted the Charter of Economy in consultation with all stakeholders, which has been shared with political parties, with the aim of creating a consensus on economic issues in the country.
The LCCI Acting President said that the Charter of Economy needs to cover the issues of taxation system, monetary policy, trade policy, internal and external borrowing, business cost and energy mix etc. He said that the change of governments should not affect the continuity of economic policies.
The policies should be finalized in consultation with all the stakeholders and their implementation should be ensured without the influence or interference of political leaders.
He said that as long as these economic policies are working to make Pakistan economically independent and self-reliant, we all should act accordingly and no one should be allowed to create obstacles in the way of the economy.
Talking about the Jaranwala incident, he said that the burning of Christian community’s properties is unacceptable and condemnable in every respect. This is also against our Islamic teachings.
He said that the entire business community demands immediate arrest and speedy trial of the culprits of the Jaranwala tragedy and at the same time emphasizes that the state and the society should mutually support the common people.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023