Former President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt said on Wednesday said that the ruinous policies of the former government have led country’s economy to prevailing situation. In a statement issued here, he said that the national leaders are trying to save their politics instead of doing something for the state. Instead of announcing plan A and plan B and making decisions based on assumptions, an immediate loan should be taken from the IMF, he stressed.

Shahid Rasheed Butt said that without the IMF programme, the country will face more inflation, unemployment and lawlessness. The country is going through the worst economic crisis in its history; strict measures and a new IMF program are needed to save the country from bankruptcy. The tough conditions of the IMF are troubling, but without them, it is impossible to overcome the economic crisis, he added. The government should control the budget and current account deficits, increase exports, reduce revenue and expenditure and expand the tax net, he said.

Time has come for the rulers to see things disregarding the political interests like impose taxes on agricultural income, real estate, wholesalers and retailers and get rid of government companies that lose trillions of rupees annually. Practical and permanent steps should be taken for agriculture re¬forms which would improve the rural economy, he said. Despite being an agricultural country, Pakistan importing agricultural items worth billions of dollars and the present food import bill alone is enough to bankrupt the country, he observed. Shahid Rashid Butt said that until the rulers start working with political determination, the economic problems of the country cannot be solved.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP