On Wednesday, Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance and Former Provincial Minister Mian Zahid Hussain said markets are responding positively to the government’s decision to increase the price of oil. The rupee is strengthening against the US dollar, and the dollar is retreating; the stock market is stabilising while investors’ confidence is getting better, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the dollar’s appreciation had increased the revenue by Rs200 billion, which helped it provide different subsidies to the poor.

Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that the government should not delay tough decisions as it will benefit the country.

He said that subsidy on petroleum products is not reversed but reduced, helping stabilise the economy while slapping a ban on unnecessary imports has reduced demand for the dollar.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that more import items should be banned to save foreign exchange and reduce the deficit as a country like Pakistan cannot afford to spend 65.5 billion dollars on imports in ten months.

He said that the government should continue to squeeze imports and reject any pressure in this regard in the national interest.

Investors’ confidence has been improving, but some investors are awaiting the outcome of negotiations with the IMF as the country needs at least 36 billion dollars in the upcoming fiscal.

He warned that the rupee would start losing its value again if reforms were delayed, and it would hit the mark of Rs220 per dollar by the end of the upcoming financial year.