ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed fears on Tuesday that the government would have to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) again if the country’s exports didn’t increase sprucely.
He said exports and duty collection were the main driving agents to boost the country’s frugality on which the government was concentrated.
The high minister presented a rosy picture of what he called “ perfecting frugality” and said all profitable pointers were showing upward trends despite inherited profitable crunch, the impact of Covid-19, and “ imported affectation” (due to price hike of food particulars in transnational request).
“ Will have to go to the IMF again if we don’t enhance our exports,” he said while addressing the initial form of 14th International Chambers Summit 2022 organized by the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The high minister claimed that the way taken by his government to combat coronavirus and keep businesses open was being followed by United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “ We didn’t let people die due to Covid-19 and lockdowns,” he added.
He said the government was making emphatic sweats to remove hurdles and backups faced by exporters, investors, and businessmen and to give a spur to the exports assiduity. “ In the history, no attention was paid to these sectors of the frugality which are vital for wealth creation. The exports sector was stagnant in the history, but the peremptory government is furnishing all facilitation to the exporters,” he said.
The peak is being attended by chairpersons of further than 54 regular chambers, 10 small chambers, 13 women’s chambers, and representatives of the development mates, the transnational business community, ministries, government institutions, and political parties.
Championing the government’s decision to present the “ mini-budget”, the high minister nominated the preface of mini-budget and trouble to validate the frugality. Out of the total estimated Rs11 trillion retail request, only Rs3 trillion request was registered, he said, adding that the government was also working on duty robotization.
The high minister stressed developing a duty culture like the Scandinavian countries that had the loftiest duty rate and said record duty earnings of Rs6, billion had been collected in Pakistan this time.
He appertained to the health card action under which each family could get free medical treatment worth Rs1 million. Such health insurance was noway allowed of in the world, Mr. Khan said.
To lift living norms of poor parts of society, the government had also launched the Ehsaas program, he said.
The high minister reported that the country’s exports had reached$ 31bn for the first time in history and foreign remittances had gone up to$ 32bn.
He said the expansion of assiduity was vital for a country’s frugality. “ In Pakistan, large-scale manufacturing has witnessed a growth of 15 percent. The commercial gains have reached Rs930bn while private sector offtake has touched Rs1, bn. The IT sector exports have recorded 70pc increase while rising to about$ 3bn,” the high minister said while enumerating the growth of the frugality due to the government’s business-friendly programs.
The construction sector, he said, was also on the smash while the pastoral husbandry- grounded frugality had earned Rs1, bn where 60 to 65pc population of the country was abiding. “ The change in their profitable condition could be gauged from the increased trade of motorcycles,” he added.
Prime Minister Khan claimed that Pakistan was still a cheaper country when compared with petroleum product prices in India and others in the region.
The high minister said that rule of law in society was critical as in its absence, corruption would assume the part of cancer. “ Corruption is a symptom of lack of rule of law in society. Our fight is for the rule of law in Pakistan. It’s a delicate bone because of different syndicates and crews which don’t want the rule of law,” he said, nominating it a jihad against the crews to secure the future of the country.
He assured the actors that all installations and serviceability would be handed for setting up artificial zones along the Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRR), adding that the RRR design had been delayed due to corruption that changed its alignment.
The high minister also assured that government would ensure the provision of land on parcels at affordable prices to set up profitable zones.
