—Says irreversible loss expected if economy was not given priority over
politics
From Our Correspondent
KARACHI: 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 irreversible loss is expected if the economy was not preferred
over politics as time is running out for us.
We cannot afford the luxury of wastage of resources as a weak economy can
never guarantee strong defense, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Pakistan’s problems and enemies have increased
due to cooperation with China as it has improved power generation and
communications, but invited wrath of the US, western nations and their
institutions like IMF, World Bank, FATF etc.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that
Pakistan’s 80 percent exports are destined to west, therefore a balanced
policy will be beneficial.
Pakistan could no longer afford corruption, tax evasion and patronage of the
mafia. If political, bureaucratic and private sector corruption and
extortion continue and that the country will suffer irreparable damage if
political elite, bureaucracy, and private sector continued corruption and
extortion remains the order of the day.
He noted that currently dozens of countries are out to destroy Pakistan of
which only one has an economy almost ten times in volume and more than
double annual GDP growth.
That hostile nation’s GDP is close to two trillion dollars while the GDP of
Pakistan is almost 213 billion dollars and it is shrinking.
Pakistan’s GDP and other indicators are steadily declining while the economy
of the neighbouring country is projected to grow forty times more than ours
by 2050 which will be beyond our control to deal with.
A country with such a large economy will open its coffers for the
destruction of Pakistan which will lead to our internal instability, he
feared.
Mian Zahid Hussain further said that even now the whole world is giving
preference to the neighbouring country except for one or two countries as
the majority do not care about our problems.
If our degradation and their development remained the same, then no one in
the world community would like to talk to us. Due to Pakistan’s continuous
decline in the economic field and repeated requests for loans, friendly
countries are now turning a blind eye, while the tone and conditions of
international institutions are also becoming stricter.
What we need are real reforms and merit so that economy can prosper and
masses can get some relief, he said.
