F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: President Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) Dr. Murtaza Mughal on Tuesday said the ailing economy could not be revived over the last three and a half years and there are slim chances that the economy will perform in the next year and a half.
In a statement issued here on Tuesday, he said that almost all the important sectors of the economy are deteriorating while those responsible for economic development are still preferring tall claims over concrete facts.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that miseries of the people will increase by the passage of time if the current set of policies were not changed.
Slogans, claims and manipulating statistics will never boost the limping economy and reduce the sufferings of the people facing unprecedented, he added. The President PEW said that for the last three and a half years important decisions regarding the economy have been taken on political grounds instead of merit.
He said the policy of previous governments to rob the poor to reward the rich continues while no one is being allowed to work hard on important posts while the pace of reshuffling of key officials in the FBR, Finance Department, Board of Investment and other key departments is even faster, leading to confusion and unrest in official circles.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that reforms were needed in key sectors which were ignored triggering the rapid decline of the economy which has taken a toll on the majority of the population.
About two and a half billion dollars’ worth of gas is stolen annually in the country and instead of controlling it, billions of dollars of gas is being imported in which new records of mismanagement have been set, he observed.
Electricity tariffs are constantly being raised but new connections are not being provided to reduce losses, recovery is being emphasized and theft is not being stopped which has caused a loss of almost 4.5 trillion rupees.
The deficit of PIA, steel mills, railways and other state-owned companies has reached Rs 2,000 billion but no tough decision is being taken in this regard for political interests, he said.
