(August-16-2024)
The Chairman of the FPCCI Policy Advisory Board and National Business Group Pakistan, President of Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, as well as former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain, on Friday, said that seventy-seven years have passed since the establishment of Pakistan. Still, the fundamental goals of independence have yet to be achieved.
He said the nation has yet to find its destination and is wandering in darkness for apparent reasons.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the East India Company first enslaved the Muslims of this region, then they became slaves of Britain; later, after the establishment of Pakistan, incompetent politicians and dictators ruled them.
Now we are slaves of IPPs and failed government corporations at the local level and IMF at the international level, he added.
Speaking at a function on Independence Day, the veteran business leader said that eliminating IPPs and failed government institutions is impossible without saying goodbye to the IMF.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the standard justice system has not been implemented in the country so far, and the fair distribution of wealth has not been ensured.
Even after 77 years of independence, the economy suffers from wrong policies, and the people’s condition is deteriorating rapidly.
The failed government institutions are sucking 1200 billion rupees annually while 2100 billion rupees are being paid to IPPs in the name of capacity payment. Terrorism continues, and soldiers are sacrificing their lives for the protection of the motherland.
He said that the number of unemployed youth is in the tens of millions, while the literacy rate is shameful and frustrated youth are running away from the country. Those who stay here are raising their voices to get employment within the country.
The people’s condition can be estimated from the fact that 74% of the population cannot pay their electricity bills. Electricity bills have become the cause of economic and political crises in the country, while the people are looking to the rulers with hope.
Mian Zahid Hussain welcomed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s announcement that electricity prices will be reduced in the next few days. He said that this announcement is a ray of hope in the darkness.
He said that the reduction in petroleum prices would also reduce inflation and added that since the beginning of the process of accountability in the army, the people’s confidence had also increased in this institution.
The business leader said that fundamental reforms in the electricity sector are crucial for national independence. Through these reforms, the price of electricity can be reduced by Rs20. By boosting exports by six billion dollars, the cost of doing business could be reduced, which will also open employment opportunities and facilitate debt repayment.
Through enabling economic policies, Pakistan can eliminate the need for continued borrowing from the US and friendly countries. It has to stand on its own feet to avoid the IMF’s dictation in budgeting while also reducing government expenditure, which is constantly increasing.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Pakistan cannot afford any more losses. Suppose the process of privatization and getting rid of IPPs has not started. In that case, getting the country out of trouble will be impossible.
