ISLAMABAD: Less than a month remains until the next general elections, according to Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI). However, the majority of political parties have yet to release their election manifestos, which is crucial in assisting voters in choosing the next government. In order to revitalize the economy, he asked all political parties to release their economic platforms. This would provide investors and the business community a clear direction and enable them to complete their short- and long-term investment and business plans for the nation. He made this statement while speaking with a group of businessmen and dealers who were visiting ICCI.
According to Ahsan Bakhtawari, Pakistan’s economy is confronted with numerous significant obstacles, including an external debt that will surpass US$ 124 billion by June 2023, a circular debt in the power sector that will surpass Rs. 2.3 trillion, and an inflation rate that will rise to over 39% in 2023. These factors have significantly lowered the average person’s purchasing power and stunted the expansion of business ventures. He claimed that the private sector’s borrowing from banks fell to Rs. 208 billion in FY 23 from Rs. 1329 billion in FY 22, indicating that the private sector has been priced out of credit due to the SBP’s high policy interest rate of 22%. As a result, it is now very difficult to attract new investment and expand existing enterprises.
According to him, Pakistan’s high energy tariff has rendered its exporters uncompetitive on the global market, meaning that, in contrast to Bangladesh, Pakistan’s exports during the first 11 months of FY 2022–2023 were less than USD 30 billion.
The President of ICCI stated that Pakistan’s economy faces numerous difficulties, such as high levels of sovereign debt, depreciating currency, and inflationary pressures, according to the UN’s World Economic Situation and Prospects Report for 2024.
In order to address these problems and revitalize the economy, Ahsan Bakhtawari suggested that all political parties release their economic platforms. This would enable voters and the business community to compare which party is offering the best solutions to deal with the problems at hand and steer Pakistan toward long-term, sustainable economic growth.
