Daily Times

President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik Sunday urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to work out timely bail out package to put defaulting Sri Lanka, a financially crumbled country, on track.

Talking to a delegation of women entrepreneurs led by Noreen Asim Siyal-an emerging youtuber, he said that main source of its revenue was tourism and deadly pandemic badly hit their tourism sector because of absence of foreign tourists which led to this ugly situation coupled with lack of good governance besides rising inflation.

He urged the world including SAARC member countries to come forward and save trembling Sri Lanka from total collapse.

He said being top leader of South Asia, he is confident that tourism will pick up again and worsening economic condition will be overcome in the days to come studed with good governance. He said Sri Lanka is seeking to restructure debts of more than $50bn its owes to foreign creditors to make it more manageable to repay.

He said Sri Lankan government needs $4bn this year to little bit settle the score and bring the peaceful normal life.

Iftikhar Ali Malik, an octogenarian trade leader feared that Sri Lanka’s default is flashing a warning sign that surging inflation is set to take a painful toll in other developing nations.

Responding to a question of Noreen Asim Siyal, he said “Pakistan will never become Sri Lanka, we have robust agriculture economy and colossal undocumented informal economy,which keeps the country sailing smoothly”.

He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is known for working over time and under his dynamic leadership Pakistan will flourish and an era of progress,prosperity and development will usher in with the active participation of private sector which will play key role in strengthening the national economy by broadening the tax base.