LAHORE:Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) here Tuesday organized a conference on “Evolution of Social, Economic, Political Order: Past, Present and Future of Pakistan: and its Impact on Creation of Enabling Business Environment” that was largely attended by the government officials, business tycoons, judiciary and various other sectors of economy.
The prime objective of the moot was to bring all stakeholders at one platform to identify the factors for economic ills and solutions the challenges being faced by the trade, industry and the economy.
State Minister for Finance and Revenue Dr. Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, DG Walled City
of Lahore Authority Kamran Lashari, Justice Shahid Jamil Khan, LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir, Chairman Nestle Pakistan Syed Yawar Ali, former Governor State Bank of Pakistan Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Punjab Zafar Masud, former Federal Minister for Agriculture Syed Fakhar Imam, former Chairman FBR Syed Muhammad Shabbar Zaidi, Executive Director Netsol Ayub Ghauri, Chairperson Crescent Foundation Syed Sardar Ali Shah, LCCI Senior Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz Chan and Vice President Haris Ateeq addressed different sessions of the conference.
Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha said the country was not only facing an economic crisis but our society was also
suffering from polarization. She said that environmental changes had become a global issue. Now the country was not facing the problems that it was facing a few months ago. She said that country’s spending were higher than income, exports were low and imports were high and these shortcomings would have to be overcome.
She said that volume of remittances was more than US $ 30 billion but tax revenue was not increasing.
“These things cannot go on like this for long,” Aisha Ghaus Pasha added.
She stressed the need for increasing exports and reduce imports to bridge huge gap, besides taking
effective measures for the development of agriculture sector.
She mentioned that two million houses had been destroyed in floods while one million cattle had been
killed, therefore, all segment of society should join hands for the help of flood affectees.
Senator Raza Rabbani said that country was in a dire need of the charter of democracy but the political
stability must be brought first. He said the judiciary should play and interpret the Constitution, as making
laws and amending the constitution was the job of parliament. Now the civil society and the media should
play their role, he added.
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir said, “In the journey spanning over 75 years, we have witnessed
various social, political and economic happenings that shaped the country that we all live in today.” He
said that in the 1960s, Pakistan’s exports were higher than those of Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines etc. In the times of prosperity, Pakistan also contributed fairly in the economic development
of the current economic powers like Germany, China, Singapore and Malaysia. It is often quoted that
Pakistan’s five year economic plan was adopted by South Korea in 1960s which laid the foundation
for the emergence of South Korea as one of the strongest economies in Asia. Delegations from various countries, which now rank among the developed economies used to visit Pakistan in 1960s to study
our model of Industrialization and growth.
DG walled City of Lahore Authority Kamran Lashari said that the promotion of cultural activities was
need of the hour. He said, “We have closed mega events like Basant, New Year celebrations, Food
Street, Cattle Show etc. that should be revived.”
Ex-Governor State Bank Dr Ishrat Hussain said that flood had caused irreparable damage and the
recovery would take years. He said that Pakistan had become the fastest growing country in the world
during first 40 years. The growth rate was six percent, all institutions were strong and the decisions
were made on merit. At that time, the business community gave money to pay the salaries of the
government employees. He said, “We have to focus on universal primary education and should invest
in our human resources. Public, private sectors and civil society have to play their role because the
state needs it the most.” He said that a petrochemical complex should be set up. The regulations
and taxes on the formal sectors of the economy are very high while some sectors have none at all.
Former Chairman FBR Shabar Zaidi said that FBR collects only one percent tax, adding that there
were 30 million bank accounts in Pakistan while only 10 million were registered in the tax net.
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir said, “Despite our complex challenges we also have to recognize
the progress that we have made. In 1947, we were a nation of 30 million people which could make both
ends meet. Today we are ranked amongst the 50 largest economies of the world with a GDP nearly
383 billion dollars.”
He said that at the time of independence in 1947, there was hardly any industry in the country as Pakistan inherited only 34 industrial units out of 921 in the subcontinent, and today it has flourishing industries like textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, automobiles, electronics, iron & steel, cement, fertilizers, engineering products, food & beverages etc.
He said, “In the area of Services, we have robust sectors like Banking and Information Technology. Our
footballs are being used in the FIFA world cups. Our textile outlets have opened their branches in the biggest shopping malls of London. Pakistan is a part of some important global arrangements of trade and economic cooperation including WTO, SCO, SAARC, GSP plus and some important bilateral and multilateral agreements.”
Mian Nauman Kabir said, “We have to identify the gaps and lay out a roadmap on what needs to be done
for the overall socio-economic development of Pakistan.”
LCCI Senior Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz Chan said that the agenda of developing inclusive strategies should be carried forward to find out a long term solution of our social, political and economic issues. He said
that experts and stakeholders should continue to play positive role in highlighting the basic issues of the country. “We need to keep knocking at the door till the time these problems are rectified and we succeed in creating enabling environment for businesses in Pakistan,” he maintained.
LCCI Vice President Haris Ateeq said that it would be their prime target to compile all the recommendations
of respected speakers in the form of a consolidated document and share the same with government for finding feasible solutions to the long standing issues. There had been and there would be more useful initiatives
continue to be taken by Lahore Chamber for the promotion of businesses and national economy.
Former LCCI President Sohail Lashari highlighted the aims and objectives of the conference and said that
the government and the private sector should be on same page as strong public private partnership was
a key solution to the economic challenges.