Breakthrough?

During the last 48 hours, business leaders in the country, including some of the most powerful heads of industry and trade, have met both COAS Qamar Javed Bajwa and Prime Minister Imran Khan. The meeting with the army chief may perhaps seem a little unusual. However, General Bajwa was accompanied by the entire economic management team of the government, led by Dr Hafeez Shaikh, and it was stressed during the marathon discussion on Wednesday night, which lasted five hours, that national security greatly depended on the national economy. Nevertheless, the series of meetings do reflect growing angst about the economy and how Pakistan is to last out days without growth.The business community was assured that there would be certainty and stability in the country as far as governance goes, allaying one of the fears that has brought economic growth to a virtual standstill according to expert analysts. To boost this, the industrialists also suggested to the prime minister, who they said they had met more times in one year than any other PM in a five-year duration, that taxation on exports be removed, the profits they had earned returned to them after the deduction of taxes so there could be reinvestment and the stagnant real-estate sector rebooted. On Friday, the Supreme Court also took up the question of the problems being faced by traders and asked the government if it wanted taxpayers to leave the country entirely. The court made it clear it was displeased with policy and asked for greater facilitation of the business community so that their work is not hampered.We must hope these promises are adhered to. Business leaders had complained that in the past promises made had not been kept and while the PM made specific pledges, his team did not follow up on them. This would suggest some degree of chaos and it is perhaps this chaos which took the businessmen to the COAS and the PM on two successive days. They are clearly desperate for business to be revived in the country. The issues raised by them were significant, such as the inclusion of LNG and petroleum products and a consequent increase in their prices. This naturally increases the cost of manufacturing.Inevitably, the issue of NAB was also raised, with complaints of harassment by the accountability body. NAB in turn has said that a director had been appointed to look into complaints but had received not even a single complaint from a business person over a period of months. Business leaders say this is because of fear. The problem is that in no country can economic activity, investment, enterprise and the setting up of new manufacturing units take place in an environment of impending danger or instability. The COAS and the PM have both acknowledged this. We desperately need a turnaround in our economy so that the liquidity that the government has admitted it currently lacks can return and a much-needed economic turnaround is witnessed. It is a welcome development to see the government, all institutions and the business community work together for a common purpose. If they succeed after this series of talks, it would bring about a new and improved era for the country.

from The News International - Editorial https://ift.tt/337n7gV