Amnesty Only Solution For Economic Revival: Dr Hussain Mohiuddin

Minhaj University's Board of Governors Deputy Chairman Prof Dr Hussain Mohiuddin Qadri said on Thursday that amnesty scheme was the only solution for revival of economy in the country

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jan, 2023 ) :Minhaj University's board of Governors Deputy Chairman Prof Dr Hussain Mohiuddin Qadri said on Thursday that amnesty scheme was the only solution for revival of economy in the country.

He was speaking at an awareness session on "Islamic economic and prevailing challenges to Pakistan" here at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) where LCCI President Kashif Anwar, Senior Vice President Chaudhry Zafar Mahmood and Vice President Adnan Khalid Butt also spoke on the occasion.

Hussain Mohiuddin Qadri said that in the next three years, Pakistan would have to repay US $ 75 billion which seemed to be a Herculean task. He said that there were two types of poverty ratio including lower middle income poverty ratio and middle income poverty ratio in Pakistan.

He said that currently 39.3 per cent of the people were included in the lower middle income ratio who earned 3 USD on a daily basis. He said that people in the upper middle income poverty were earning 5 USD per day. He said that if lower middle income and upper middle income people were combined, then about 78 per cent of the population was earning less than Rs. 40,000 per month while 22 per cent segments earn more than Rs. 40,000.

He said that according to the September 2021 report of the government, 22 per cent of the people earning 13 USD a month in Pakistan. The devastation caused by the recent floods had further increased this ratio. He said that India had lifted 415 million people out of poverty between the year 2006 to 2021. He said that according to Bangladesh's National Poverty figures of 2016 and 2017, only 24 per cent of people in the entire country were below the poverty line.

He added that every poor country was on the path of improvement and working to pull its population above the poverty line except Pakistan where people were getting poorer every year. He said that in the last three years, unemployment was continuously increasing and according to national public debt, Pakistan owed Rs 54 trillion till March 2022. He feared that public debt of Pakistan will reach 138 billion Dollars by the end of 2023.

He said that according to the Network Readiness Report, which compared technology; people, policy impact and other such factors, had analyzed 131 countries and ranked Pakistan 89th.

He said that until ten years ago, the economic data of Pakistan was included in the list of South Asian countries. Whereas today Pakistan's economic data was included in the list of poorest countries in Africa and so on. "This is the progress we have made in the last several decades," he remarked. He said that international surveys suggest that Pakistan's general physical growth would be negative in the near future, while general inflation would increase by 23 per cent.

Prof. Dr. Hussain Mohiuddin Qadri said that exports had been declining in the past several years, except for 2021. Similarly, imports had 52 billion US dollars in 2019 to 69 billion US dollars in 2021 due to which the trade deficit was increasing.

Contrary to this, he said, India and Bangladesh had seen an increase in exports.

He said that foreign investment had been declining in Pakistan for the past three years due to lack of ease of doing business.

According to a survey of 190 countries, Pakistan was ranked 108th in ease of doing business, while India was ranked at 63rd. Literacy rate in Pakistan was 62 per cent which was higher than ours in all regional countries.

He said that Pakistan's green areas were converted into construction areas. In the next several years, Pakistan would be at risk of more devastating floods than the current ones due to deforestation.

Prof. Dr. Hussain Mohiuddin Qadri said, "Islam says to go into debt when it becomes difficult for you to survive. Islamic Economics is the system of teachings of Holy Prophet (PBUH). Islamic economics is the name of changing the business system. Islamic economics is all about striking a balance between limited resources and limited wants." He added, "If we had reduced our expenses in the 90s, our resources would have increased and we would not have faced the problems created by just fulfilling our desires." LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that today the economy was going towards decline, and "We have not been able to get rid of the system of interest till date. Unemployment in the country is at its peak. People are not getting jobs." He said that more than 8,000 containers were stuck at the ports. "Although we are an agricultural country, we have to import cotton bales because we have converted our green areas into housing societies. Water is a huge problem in Pakistan. Either we don't have water or there is a flood. Because we did not build dams and water reservoirs and we wasted this white gold. Thirty billion dollars have been damaged by the floods which has caused devastation for livestock, infrastructure, houses and human lives."LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that islam is a complete code of life and provides complete guidance and a plan of action in every sphere and every aspect of life. He said that the problems and difficulties that Pakistan's economy was currently facing, if we had promoted Islamic teachings and Islamic livelihood system, the country would only come out of these challenges but could also emerge as a model economy in the world.

He added that Pakistan had all the resources and blessings that could make it a great economic power. The only requirement was to determine the right direction.