Pakistan needs exports, not just rupees: says Haroon Akhtar Stresses

ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister Haroon Akhtar, while speaking on ABN’s program Debate @ 8, said that business should be made easier by reducing the availability of credit, energy costs, and input costs so that industries can be reactivated. I am hopeful that the new industrial policy will play a key role in Pakistan’s industrial revival.

Industry is the biggest source of revenue for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), but the government is not giving the necessary importance to this sector.

According to him, Pakistan has to go to the IMF not because of a shortage of rupees but because of a shortage of foreign exchange, so exports and the promotion of industry are inevitable.

The government’s economic team, headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is going to introduce the first comprehensive industrial policy soon.

Never in the 78-year history of Pakistan has a complete industrial policy come out. If the current government implements it, it will be a milestone for the country’s economy.,Haroon Akhtar said.

According to him, first of all, it is necessary to revive the closed industries because the country has machinery, buildings, markets, and labor; all that is needed is to provide a conducive environment.

Talking about the privatization of PIA and other institutions, Haroon Akhtar said that real economic reforms were carried out during the Nawaz Sharif regime in the 1990s, which included deregulation, liberalization, and privatization.

India adopted and benefited from these reforms regularly, but Pakistan failed to continue the policy. Since 2006, no major privatization process has been completed, he stressed. If privatization of institutions like ZTBL is done, strict rules should be made so that the new owners cannot ignore the interests of farmers.

Talking about trade with the US, he said that at present, a major part of Pakistan’s exports is related to textiles, but most of the textile industry is closed.

Due to the imposition of additional tariffs on India, an opportunity has arisen for Pakistan to make a place for its products in the US market. However, he warned that Pakistan will face tough competition from Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Cambodia because the cost of doing business there is much lower than in Pakistan.

Commenting on the IMF report on money laundering, Haroon Akhtar said that Pakistan is currently in good standing with FATF and is not on any grey list. FATF is the central body in this regard, and Pakistan is constantly under review, so this problem is not serious and will be resolved.