Lahore: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said on Saturday that the world is moving away from gasoline in transportation as the EV revolution has begun across the globe.
He added that 80 per cent of petrol in Pakistan is spent on transport and “we are trying to move towards EVs quickly. ”
Addressing as the chief guest the inaugural ceremony of EVS World and Electricity Pakistan Exhibition and later talking to the media here at Expo Centre, he added, the revolution of EVs has taken place, and the promotion of electric vehicles would play an important role in reducing the import cost of fuel. We will have to move rapidly towards modern technology, electric vehicles and green energy.
Ahsan Iqbal said, the country’s development depends on sustainable energy, innovation and industrial expansion. “We have to move away from import dependence and create an export-based economy. We have to move towards a dollar-denominated economy. ”
He said that Pakistan’s economic independence and sustainable development depend on a significant increase in exports, the country must quickly shift from an import-based economy to an export-based economy. He said that it is necessary to quickly introduce EVs in our transport sector and shift two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers to electric energy in a phased manner. In this regard, the government has announced various measures. The government has given various incentives including a subsidy of up to Rs. 80, 000 for the promotion of electric motorcycles, while in the recent budget, duties on EV vehicles have also been reduced so that they can be introduced in the country as much as possible.
He said that Pakistan has created an energy buffer in the power sector through 6000 to 8000MW of solar energy. Now there is a need to reduce dependence on imported oil and use domestically generated electricity for transport. Federal Minister said that Pakistan’s future depends on its export capacity. He said that now Pakistan has to quickly shift from a consumption-based economy to a dollar-earning economy. Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan has to achieve the target of exports of more than USD 100 billion by 2035. “The country’s economic independence depends on whether we can increase our exports at the desired pace or not. Every businessman has to play his role to become an exporter, ” he observed.
He said that government’s priority is to bring continuity in policies and provide full support to the private sector to increase exports. Pakistan’s EV sector also has the potential to achieve a prominent position at the global level, however, the current export volume needs to be increased at least tenfold.
Referring to tax reforms, the federal minister said that large-scale reforms have been made to digitalize the FBR system so that human intervention in tax assessment is minimized and the use of artificial intelligence can make the tax system more transparent and help in removing these complaints to a large extent. He said that Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio is about 9. 5 percent, while in other developing countries this rate is 14 to 16 percent.
Ahsan Iqbal said that eliminating tax evasion and broadening the tax base is inevitable. If tax evasion continues and we do not pay our share of tax, then the government does not have the resources to launch new public development projects. Those who pay taxes regularly are unfortunately also bearing the burden of those who evade taxes.
Ahsan Iqbal said that taxpayers should cooperate with the government and tax evasion should be identified in a cooperative manner so that the tax base can be broadened and tax rates and the burden on the public can be reduced.
Regarding terrorism, he said that when we won the (Marka-e-Haq (battle of truth) and defeated our traditional rival India by giving it a crushing defeat, it has now cowardly started an unconventional war in Pakistan through terrorism. “Just as we have defeated India in a conventional war, God willing, we will crush its ambitions in this unconventional war and it will also face the same fate for its facilitators. ”
He said that Pakistan has emerged in the world with a new identity as a peace-loving country through diplomacy, while the country’s economy is also moving towards recovery after a long time. In the past, during the PTI regime, the country was close to bankruptcy. The country was fortunate that the no-confidence motion was successful a few days later and the country escaped this punishment. Today, as a result of the bold steps taken by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, he said, the country is on the path of development.
About the increase in oil prices at the global level, Ahsan Iqbal said that the government does not want to burden the people, however, if oil prices increase in the global market, it becomes inevitable to adjust them. He said that as soon as oil prices in the global market decrease, its benefits will be transferred to the people. Regarding the tension between the US and Iran, he said that effects of war are not limited to the relevant countries but affected the entire world economy and the common man, because the price of this war is not only paid by the US and Iran, the economies of 193 countries are also paying the price of this war and these countries themselves are also directly affected by the effects of this war. The increase in oil prices increases inflation worldwide, so the international community should play an effective role in establishing peace. He expressed the hope that the US and Iran will return to negotiations and agreements so that peace can be established in the region and the global econ
omy can be saved from further damage.