ISLAMABAD (INP): Former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt has said that exploitation of rights of citizens was not allowed in developed countries but business in Pakistan was unthinkable without exploitation.
In a statement issued here on Sunday, he said that key sectors and industries were operated without any regulatory oversight in Pakistan, allowing businessmen to rob the masses and promote poverty in the country.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that in developed countries, no business was allowed to exploit the people and if it was done, it was made an example but the majority of businesses in Pakistan were milking the masses.
Irresponsible and greedy people, whose only aim was to make money, exploit people in the name of business, as most of the big businesses were in their hands, he added.
The business leaders said that many sectors were operating without a regulator and many regulators have been hijacked by big businesses.
For this reason, the wealth and influence of businessmen were continuously increasing while the country’s population was getting poorer, he maintained.
He observed that weak oversight has allowed businesses to continuously seize the rights of the people, while the compromised regulators of various sectors burden the national treasury.
Many influential business groups have started exploiting the people by putting their favourite officers at the head of the regulatory bodies, which was sad, he noted.
Shahid Rasheed said that presently, there was nobody to regulate FBR. The FBR officers also make decisions in case of dispute between the taxpayer and the tax collector and if the taxpayer does not agree with the decision, they appeal in the appellate forum, which takes years to get its result.
Due to this setup, the expected revenue of trillions of rupees is also stuck due to delay, he said, adding that in many cities of the country, including Islamabad, the bureaucracy increases property and other taxes whenever it wants.
The former ICCI President said businessmen dealing in oil, gas and shares frequently get their favourite people appointed to the most important regulatory positions so that no one can stop them from plundering.
Those responsible for the crises of the stock market have never been punished, while consumers of electricity, gas and oil were also being robbed continuously, but the role of the regulator was no more than a silent spectator, he added.
Shahid Rasheed said that there was nobody to regulate the business of oil and gas production, due to which dozens of companies have fled Pakistan. And we have to import billions of dollars worth of gas. He said that the whole nation has to bear the consequences of lacking a regulator in the agricultural sector.
