PM pushes industrialists to invest ‘without worry’

Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday urged the businessmen and exporters to invest freely in the country with no worry for any policy shift or bottlenecks as the government is fully focused at reviving industrialization through maximum facilitation. “Invest more on exports without worry. The government will resolve all of your issues. You should not be afraid of any policy shift to affect your investment. Our job is your facilitation, which will lead to creation of wealth and jobs,” the prime minister said while addressing here a gathering of exporters and industrialists. The prime minister said it was pleasing that the industries and power looms were running at full capacity which even created shortage of textile labour. He asked the Punjab government to promote skill training of the youth to enhance value-added textile workforce. He said if Faisalabad, once known as Pakistan’s Manchester, kept up its current pace of industrial development, it would even leave Manchester behind. The prime minister recalled that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government inherited a record debt burden, $20 billion current account deficit, $40 billion trade deficit, devalued currency, and the reserves at the lowest ebb. The country was even short of money to make international payments but the government successfully passed through the difficult phase courtesy the timely support by the friendly states saving it from default, he added. The prime minister said since 1960s, Pakistan’s industrial model institutions like hospitals and universities used to be idolized but it took a downturn following the then government’s policy of nationalization. Instead of introducing nationalization, the government should have done legislation to channelize into the national economy the money which had been accumulated within few families, he added. He said through similar policies, China steered around 700 million people out of poverty, but contrarily, the nationalization in Pakistan impeded the growth. He said after nationalization, even money making was considered a taboo which instead should have been encouraged, if through legal means and not through cartelization or profiteering. “Our full focus is to take Pakistan to industrialization and enhance exports. The government will facilitate and bring ease of doing business. We are fully striving to attract people to invest and create jobs. This will happen through ease of doing business,” the prime minister said. He told the gathering that the automation of Federal Board of Revenue was also in process to reduce human intervention. The prime minister said the government’s policy of providing incentives to exporters was paying dividends as exports were on surge. He said contrary to the world, Pakistan maintained balance between lives and livelihood during the Covid-19 which kept people from poverty and economy from default. He also appreciated his economic team including Hammad Azhar, NCOC and others for helping the government formulate policies to incentivize business and industries besides containing the pathogen. He said even the World Health Organization (WHO) also lauded Pakistan for successfully navigating during COVID-19. However, he advised the people not to give up wearing mask as the second wave had hit the country again, to ebb away pressure from economy as well as hospitals. As requested by the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), the prime minister assured to uplift the city’s infrastructure. He said despite being the opposition led province, the government also announced a mega development package for Karachi. He said the government was toeing the policy of industrialization and all the relevant policies would be formulated after consultation with the stakeholders. He said following the government’s business friendly policies and packages, the industrial and construction sectors were showing improvement. As pointed out from audience, the prime minister agreed to the idea of establishing a high court bench in Faisalabad for ease of the litigants. Commenting on the development of cities, the premier stated that successful cities around the world function “like countries”. “They have their own mayor, a cabinet [and] they collect their own funds,” he said, noting that Faisalabad was dependent on the provincial government for funds. “Faisalabad is a rich city but it has to depend on funds from the Punjab government to fix roads, and construct hospitals and colleges. Modern cities don’t run like this.” So under the new local government system, each city will have its own election to appoint a mayor who will then choose a cabinet of experts to make it a self-sustaining city, he said. “God willing, one day Manchester will say that Faisalabad has progressed further than us,” he said, referencing a comment made earlier during the ceremony which had drawn a parallel between Faisalabad and the city in the United Kingdom. “You need to think big.”