Daily Times

KARACHI: During the last three years, the country’s exports have declined by nearly 20 percent, falling from $25.1 billion to $20.8 billion, said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Saeed Ghani.
Showing serious concerns over the “silence” of the government on the massive decline of country’s exports to the tune of Rs 500 billion, he feared that “another massive financial scandal involving the moneyed cartel of Sharif brothers could be on the way”.

“If Panama scandal and offshore companies are anything to go by, it could be no surprise that Sharif’s moneyed cartel might be involved in the fall of exports for personal windfall profits,” the PPP senator said. The two key sectors of the economy – agriculture and exports – which accounts for almost one-third of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – have floundered since 2013.
He said former president Asif Ali Zardari, in his tenure, persuaded the European Union to award the GSP Plus status to Pakistan and allow zero duty on Pakistani exports to European countries.

“The EU finally approved GSP Plus status in 2013, but the Sharif government has almost failed to fully exploit the GSP Plus facility for its lacklustre policy response and indifference towards the export sector and bizarre priorities,” he added.
The senator said that such drastic fall in exports would unleash a storm of unemployment in the country, which could turn millions of skilled and unskilled labour jobless.

“A loss of Rs 500 billion in the export sector is a major jolt to our economy and its aftershocks would be very destructive,” he said, adding that there is a dire need to promote exports and capitalise the hard-earned GSP Plus status.