Charter Of Economy Inevitable For Durable Development: Former President Of Pakistan And PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari

Former President of Pakistan and PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday called for comprehensive dialogue on 'Charter of Economy' so as to put in order effective and collective measures for bringing durable improvements in the country's economy

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Jun, 2023 ) :Former President of Pakistan and PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday called for comprehensive dialogue on 'Charter of Economy' so as to put in order effective and collective measures for bringing durable improvements in the country's economy.

He expressed these views while speaking in a Discussion on Charter of Economy organized by Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) here at the Federation's Regional Office. FPCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh and SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC-CCI) Vice President Mian Anjum Nisar also spoke on this occasion, while a large number businessmen and industrialists attended the session.

Asif Ali Zardari said that improving the economic situation was need of the hour and inevitable for the future generations. He claimed that he guaranteed to bring in investments to Pakistan, if the business and industrialist community of Punjab got on the same page. He said that he believed, Pakistan had to go to double digit exports that did not mean USD 20 billion but USD 200 billion.

Pakistan had no shortage of resources and manpower therefore 'we have to improve our economy by ourselves' because big foreign investors demanded big returns and they repatriate five times of their investment. "Punjab has big business tycoons and they should get united and make investment in any sector, and we guarantee them security of their investments and dividends." He said that Pakistan People's Party had always taken best care of business community. He quoted Mahathir Muhammad of Malaysia, when he had visited Pakistan, as saying 'Make wealthier your countrymen first then tax them'. "So the whole question is that we keep trying to turnout juice of those people who are already taxed and who will believe in 21 percent Kibor Rate. Economic planning should not be for five or ten years but for our coming generations.

China had worked out economic planning for 50 years and we also have to follow the suit," he maintained.

The PPP Co-Chairman added that if Pakistan's exports reached up to USD 300 billion, everyone would forget about the expenditures of any sector or institution, asserting that the nation would have rise above this mind-set that who was spending what.

In Sindh, he said, the provincial government increased the prices of commodities wherever it found some space and that hike affected the prices across Pakistan, and everyone blamed him of that move, explaining that he increased the prices in an effort to tackle the imports as the country was running short of foreign exchange reserves. Sindh government was promoting public-private partnership even in road sector so as to save the precious foreign reserves of the country, he added.

Asif Ali Zardari said that politicians and parliamentarians formulated the economic policies and running businesses was not their job as it was the mandate of business community.

He said that he had advised Imran Khan let sit together and sort out the country's matters in the parliament and also deliberate on Charter of Economy but he did not pay any heed his narration. He said that he had spent more time in jails rather than at home and he had remained in jails of Punjab for eight years. He said that he had brought Chinese investments to Pakistan under the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor), asserting that he believed that manufacturing and production was the sole business of industrialists and the public sector/government had to assist and facilitate them in the best interest of national economy.

Asif Ali Zardari urged the business community to play their vital role in the government's endeavors for overall economic development of Pakistan.