Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) plan to decrease taxes on energy supply facilities and agriculture is highly laudable, a business leader said on Saturday.

The move will make businesses more competitive with regional countries resulting in enhanced exports and employment opportunities, he said.

“The plan of PTI’s economic managers to insulate state-owned enterprises from political interference will help Pakistan save billions of dollars,” Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) former senior vice president Malik Sohail Hussain said.

He said that the bleeding state-owned corporations continue to inflict losses to the tune of trillions of rupees which add to the budget deficit.

ICCI former SVP Malik Sohail Hussain strong incentives will help recover the agricultural sector which must include reduced power tariff for tube wells.

He said that reduction in power tariff will reduce the cost of doing business for farmers while also providing relief to masses.

It will also help exporters compete with rivals in the international market. Fertiliser prices should also be reduced to boost agricultural production.

The new government has decided to bring more transparency to more than $60 billion Belt & Road infrastructure projects in Pakistan which is a welcome move, he observed.

It has also promised transformation of governance, strengthening the federation, revitalising economic growth, revolutionising social services, ensuring the country’s national security and uplift of agriculture sector during the first 100 days in power.

He demanded of the incoming government to announce a complete set of reforms without any delay to boost economy and confidence of investors.

Published in Daily Times, August 5^th 2018.