By Asim Hussain
ISLAMABAD: Former President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt on Tuesday said the masses and business community are pinning high hopes with newly elected Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
People are positive that PM Sharif has the will and ability to steer the country out of the current economic mess, he said. In a statement issued here, Shahid Rasheed Butt said that disappointed people and dejected investors have breathed a sigh of relief as soon as Shahbaz Sharif became the Prime Minister.
He said that Premier Shahbaz Sharif will have to face serious challenges including economic and political crisis, inflation, resumption of the stalled IMF program, deteriorating relations with the Western powers, the shortage of water for agriculture and the resurgence of militancy in some parts of the country.
Reviving the broken economy will be the toughest task for him that will be a test of abilities in which he will remain successful, he hoped.
The business leader said that PTI had done nothing but revengeful politics and damage the economic foundations of the country through wrong decisions.
During the PTI government, a good number of the population was pushed below the poverty line and millions of businesses went bankrupt.
Former PM Imran Khan should accept his defeat, have some mercy on the country, and stop fanning the flames of political instability in the interest of the country, he demanded. Shahid Rasheed said that the country would have gone bankrupt two years ago without billions of dollars in aid for the coronavirus outbreak, adding that as long as the volume of dollars coming into the country is less than the number of dollars going abroad, the rupee will continue to depreciate because exports and remittances are less than required.
He said that SBP has raised interest rates to save the economy otherwise
dollar would have jumped to Rs200 but the business community is criticising
the move which is wrong.
Mr. Butt said that every Pakistan was indebted by Rs36000 in 2018, and PPP
indebted every person to Rs88000 in five years. After that, PML-N left every
person indebted by 144000 while PTI left everyone indebted by Rs227000.
PML-N borrowed heavily but also completed many mega projects and other
developmental projects but PTI broke all records of borrowing without doing
anything except raising slogans.
