Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir on Sunday met the business communities in Karachi and Lahore and addressed their complaints. In the meetings, he’s reported to have said that Pakistan is eyeing investments worth a hundred billion dollars from friendly countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and China in the coming years.
Economic experts however have their doubts regarding such claims and one such economist is Dr Nadeem Haque, the Vice Chancellor of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), who on Naya Daur TV’s flagship programme Khabar Say Aagay (Beyond the Headlines) argued that it was impossible to increase Pakistan’s exports at this time but it would be more feasible to plan export of skilled labour to other countries.
He said that General Munir’s meetings with the businessmen were no different from similar meetings by General Pervez Musharraf and General Bajwa in the past. “They never bear any fruit,” he said.
Nadeem Haque said that Pakistan needed to open its economy, get rid of mullahs and embrace modernity. “Nowhere does Islam forbid us from embracing modernity. Give women the opportunities to become useful contributors to the economy, do land reforms, offer tax concessions to the industries that export products and stop subsidizing the industries that don’t, auction buildings and government owned residences, make it mandatory for every government official to pay electricity bills, reform bureaucracy and forget about relying on ‘friendly countries’ for loans and bailouts,” Haque added.
The army chief had also reportedly said that forex traders were to be strictly monitored and exchange rate would be managed. Haque was unconvinced though. He says that controlling the exchange rate was bound to meet failure like it did in Japan, Britain and many other countries in the past.
Journalist Aijaz Ahmed was skeptical of army chief’s moves that he considered as another encroachment on civilian space. “These ministers and bureaucrats should be sent home if army chief is going to manage the economy as well. The COAS has told the businessmen to stop evading taxes and invest in the country”, he said.
Aijaz was also unsure about army’s resolve to control smuggling on Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The show is hosted by Raza Rumi at 9 PM from Monday to Saturday on Naya Daur TV.