On Friday, Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain expressed concern over increasing imports that have become a threat to the economy.

Unabated imports are proving to poison the national economy, but instead of reducing them, it is being increased, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the policy of increased imports is beyond the comprehension of the people and the business community. As a result, panic, anxiety and uncertainty are spreading.

Talking to the business community, Mian Zahid Hussain said that despite the precarious situation of the country’s economy, the monthly imports had exceeded seven billion dollars.

According to official figures, the combined November and December imports are now $15.5 billion, which destabilises the struggling economy.

The average imports for the six months before November and December was around $6 billion a month, which has increased substantially, resulting in a panic in the market.

He said November’s imports of petroleum and crude were 2.8 million tonnes, which was at least one million tonnes more than usual, which should be explained as it cost an additional $600million.

Similarly, the import bill for medicines has also increased by seven hundred million dollars, astonishing.

The veteran business leader noted that the price of stocks with the wholesalers has increased by billions of rupees because of the wave of inflation. Still, the purchasing power of the people has run out, hitting sales.

A country cannot grow if the purchasing power of the people is depleted, he said, adding that the purchasing power of the people will be further affected due to current policies, he said.

He added that it would shut many projects and businesses down, further aggravating the economic situation.

A sharp rise in prices of construction materials have hit housing projects hard, and only big companies are completing their tasks while small and medium-sized companies are waiting for the situation to turn normal.

He said that the government claims to increase wealth, but its policies are increasing poverty, an example of which is a 22 per cent cut in the federal development budget.