Home Latest News Political Stability Necessary for Economic Success: P.M. Sharif

Political Stability Necessary for Economic Success: P.M. Sharif

Addressing pre-budget business conference, premier voices intent to tax real estate, stresses ‘elite’ must sacrifice for sake of nation

by Staff Report

Photo courtesy PID

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday reiterated his calls for a Charter of Economy, stressing that the country’s economic success is intrinsically linked to political stability.

Addressing the conclusion of a daylong pre-budget business conference in Islamabad, he said all stakeholders should come together to finalize and implement a long-term plan aimed at reviving the country’s economy. “Let us sign a ‘Charter of Economy’ for economic stability and progress and seal it so that whosoever will come to power cannot change basic goals,” he said.

“If there will be no political stability, there will be no economic stability,” he said, adding that all the suggestions proposed during the conference would be considered by the incumbent government and incorporated into plans for agricultural, industrial and financial growth.

The pre-budget conference was attended by industrialists, agriculturists and economists, who were all invited to focus on inclusive economic policy-making to help steer the country out of an ongoing crisis. In his speech, the prime minister said that the time had come for the elite class to “sacrifice” for the sake of the nation, adding that taxation of non-productive assets like real estate had to be implemented.

“Until now, hard time has been faced by the poor but today it’s the turn of well-off people to take the burden,” he said, adding that real estate should be taxed and vertical housing encouraged to protect agricultural land. He also urged industrialists to opt for renewable energy and capitalize on the country’s coal reserves for power generation to reduce the reliance on imported fuel.

There is a great need to curtail imports and increase exports, said the prime minister. He said the government was committed to expanding local industry and removing all hindrances to their functioning.

Regretting that the country’s economy had stagnated over the past 50 years, he said Pakistan used to have five-year development programs that allowed it to progress ahead of other regional nations. “In the 1990s, the Pakistani rupee had better value than the Indian rupee. Pakistan also showed [India] how can we run the economy on modern lines; we liberalized Pakistan’s economy and India copied it,” he said, adding that it was now necessary to develop rural areas to discourage mass migrations from underdeveloped regions to developed cities.

“Rural areas, which house 65 percent of Pakistan’s population, should be developed. This can only happen when our children get quality education there,” he said, adding that it would also help increase the agricultural yield through modern technology.

Admitting that the federation’s powers had been curbed after the 18th amendment, he said this required the governments in provinces and at the center to work together to develop comprehensive plans for mutual success. “For that, I will need your [industrialists] help. I am not saying this for a mere speech. No, we are forming a task force,” he added.

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