Businessmen term IMF fiscal aid vital for Pakistan

LAHORE: The business community has termed $7.5 billion financial assistance by International Monetary Fund (IMF) vital for Pakistan economy.

This was disclosed in a random survey conducted by APP on Friday.

The IMF assistance would strengthen country’s financial institutions, which would lead to revitalisation of the economy, said Iftikhar Ali Malik, Co-Chairman of Businessmen Panel, the largest alliance of chambers and traders of Pakistan.

Malik, who is also Vice President of SAARC Chambers of Commerce and Industry, further said that recent global recession had upset even the biggest economies of the world.

When contacted, the founder President of Sahiwal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Safdar Rasheed observed that IMF terms and conditions for financial assistance were not too strict as being projected by several quarters.

The assistance, he added, would help set Pakistan economy in the right direction to ensure progress and prosperity of the people of Pakistan.

Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Acting President Mian Muzaffar was of the view that though government had accepted the IMF fiscal aid, now there was dire need to ensure proper and right utilisation of this amount, otherwise it would leave a negative impact on the Pakistani business environment.

The government should largely trust and depend on country’s businessmen, who are the real friends of Pakistan and take effective measures for strengthening the local businesses so that in future, Pakistan would not go to any international financial institution for assistance, he maintained.

The LCCI Vice President Shafqat Saeed Paracha was of the opinion that government should reduce its expenditures and expand the tax net instead of increasing the tax rates. app

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