Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain said on Monday that the new Federal Cabinet would be the best combination of understanding, competence, and experience. He told Aurangzeb Khan and Mohsin Naqvi that their knowledge and abilities should be fully utilised in the new federal cabinet. Mian Zahid Hussain said that immediate progress should be made towards a new agreement with the IMF and that fundamental economic reforms should be initiated.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government will resolve long-delayed matters and will be taken forward rapidly, in which the role of President Asif Ali Zardari and the People’s Party will be laudable.
The business leader added that the presence of Asif Ali Zardari in the presidency would be a boon for the system.
The specific terms of the agreement with the IMF need to be fully implemented, and the lender’s leniency is appreciable because the situation is improving because of it.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that according to the agreement with the IMF, the clause regarding the permission of imports is not being implemented. Imports have not been eased as agreed, reducing the current account deficit.
He observed that by keeping the current account under control, the speed at which the dollar leaves the country has been controlled, which does not rapidly deplete the foreign exchange reserves.
One of the reasons for the IMF’s lenience is that foreign investment is negligible. Loans are unavailable; foreign exchange reserves will be depleted if imports are allowed.
Mian Zahid Hussain further said that the agreement with the IMF included freeing the exchange rate. Still, it is being managed quietly, which has caused the value of the rupee to be stable for several months, even in the current economic situation, which has boosted the business community’s confidence.
Suppose the exchange rate is left to the market’s will. The value of the rupee can decrease rapidly, which will further affect the people and the economy, which the lender understands.
This decision by the IMF is helping to stabilise the economy. Despite the violation of the agreement, it is ready for a new deal. The lender is ignoring the childish actions of failed politicians.
Hopefully, despite the new contract, the IMF will not stress the full implementation of import and exchange rate policies, significantly relieving Pakistan.