LAHORE (INP): President of Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) Dr. Murtaza Mughal said on Sunday that currency exchange companies and Afghan transit trade were behind the economic instability of Pakistan.
In a statement issued on Sunday, he said that many currency dealers provide all kinds of services to the corrupt elements and send the capital collected through plunder out of the country. This sector has become a hotbed for money laundering, he added.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal was of the view that the freedom given to exchange companies in Pakistan does not exist anywhere on earth. The developed countries do not dare adopt such a system that a debtor country like ours has adopted, which has shaken the foundations of the country.
He said that goods worth billions of dollars are being smuggled through the Afghan transit trade that has no consumption in Afghanistan.
Hundreds of containers destined for Afghanistan are being emptied in Karachi and other cities, thereby depriving the local industry of its fair share and hitting revenue, he said, adding that many politicians and corrupt elements in almost all institutions are involved in this scam and are ruining the country to fill their pockets.
Dr. Mughal said that the economy of Afghanistan has become stable. A dollar is available for 80 Afghanis there, while in Pakistan, the dollar has crossed the triple century, so the Afghan government should be asked to import all the goods for their needs through Iran.
If the trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan is restricted and strictly monitored, the local currency will stabilize, the dollar will weaken, and the crisis of flour, sugar, cooking oil, milk, pulses, and other commodities will stop in the country. It will also reduce the price of many items in Pakistan, including rice, steel bars, cement, urea, etc.
Currency dealers, transit trade behind economic instability: PEW
