‘Growing tension has affected Pak-Afghan trade’

Jang Economic Session  

LAHORE: Business activities in the country have been reduced by 30 to 35 percent due to ongoing terror wave while Pak-Afghan trade has been affected by the growing tension between the two countries. 

These views were expressed by the experts in the Jang Economic Session on ‘New wave to destabilise Pakistan – economic growth and national security’. The panellists were Uzma Bokhari, Abdul Basit Khan, Khawar Rashid, Captain Farooqi, Farooq Tariq and Abdul Razzaq Babbar. The session was hosted by Sikandar Lodhi.

Uzma Bokhari said the Punjab government was taking effective measures to control terrorism besides engaging religious scholars in guiding the society on population control. She said the Punjab government had been reviewing the curriculum of seminaries to stop them from becoming nurseries for terrorism. Community level committees were being established to take action against the facilitators of terrorists, she said.

Abdul Basit Khan said national interests should be prioritised as Pakistan’s economy was set to become 18th largest economy of the world by 2050 for which youths should be provided with opportunities. He said lack of leadership, delay in census and growing population were the major causes of emerging issues. He called for effective tax collection mechanism along with population control.

Khawar Rashid said export orders were being delayed due to law and order issue which was a threat to industries. He said the political leadership should avoid political point scoring and resolve issues through talks as political anarchy was affecting the economy. He believed deportation of the Afghan nationals would create peace in the country.

Captain Farooqi said emergency should be imposed to control law and order in the country and there should an end to protocol culture. He suggested more focus on housing sector under the government supervision which would not only create employment opportunities but also provide people with shelter. He said collective efforts were needed to improve the country's image abroad and law and order at home.

Farooq Tariq said bad law and order situation and new terror wave had exposed the weaknesses in security. He said terror incidents were an insult to humanity. The government should revisit its relations with Afghanistan as extremism was destroying peace both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He said every citizen should contribute its share in making the country peaceful. He called for increasing the education budget up to 10 percent of the total budget.

Abdul Razzaq Babbar said protests, strikes and blasts had created serious situation which if not checked would lead to industrial crisis. He said all state institutions should take the issues seriously and play their role in improving the situation. He said politicians should give priority to the national interests while doing politics.