PESHAWAR: Pakistan Customs, Railways and National Logistics Cell (NLC) must develop a well-organised dry port in Peshawar to increase trade volume through Afghan Transit Trade and to facilitate the traders of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
This was suggested by KP Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Zulfiqar Ali Khan while giving an interview to Customs Today. Khan also urged the Federal Board of Revenue to clear the refunds on a priority basis in order to arrest the declining trade volume.
Policies of the federal government towards KP were discriminatory, as not a single major project had been introduced in the province by it, he said, adding that groundbreaking ceremonies of different projects were being held in Punjab, which showed priorities of the Centre as well its discrimination against smaller provinces.
The lawmakers of the National Assembly should develop “national-oriented” policies instead of focusing on the province from where they belong to, he said, adding that the government should formulate policies to improve performance of Pakistan Steel Mills, Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and other public entities.
The KP-CCI president also criticised the performance of provincial government, which came into power with the slogans to bring change in KP. He said that the prime objective of the provincial government was to topple the federal government instead of giving attention to much deprived part – business community that generates taxes to run state affairs efficiently. He said the provincial ministers were found involved in corruption.
KP is in a pathetic state, as commercial banks have declared the province a “red zone”, he said, adding that out of the total sanctioned loans, only 2 percent were issued to traders of the province that is strategically very important.
Khan said load shedding has crippled the industries and ultimately affected the exports of Pakistan due to which trade deficit was expanding with every passing day. He said KP has potential to produce 30,000 megawatt electricity through hydroelectric power, which is enough to meet the domestic needs. He added that industrial load of KP is only 165MW.
The oil production of Pakistan stood at 50,000 barrels per day that could be doubled through new explorations and technology, he said.
Law and order situation is the biggest problem in the province, he said, adding that peace will bring investment, industrialisation and job opportunities to public, besides boosting standard of life. He stressed that government must understand basic facts to ensure sustainable economic development in the province.
About 50 percent overseas Pakistanis were from KP who remitted foreign exchange to Pakistan, he said, adding that Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI) started by former prime minister Shaukat Aziz has brought positive results and today remittances were over $12 billion per annum. “Remittances can be increased to over $20 billion per annum that would also help to cover the trade deficit,” Khan said, adding that national manpower exports policy must be developed in consultation with all chambers.
Since Afghan war in1979, about 5 million Afghans settled in different parts of province and every government announced aid for Afghan refugees but it was used for other purposes, he revealed.
Chamber is planning to organise “Made in KP Exhibition” by the end of 2015 to promote exports, he said. It would help to attract investment from Pakistan and abroad especially in tourism, oil and gas sector. Chamber has talked with Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE) to form Peshawar Stock Exchange (PSE).
KP-CCI is working with over 4,000 members and has standing committees on income tax and customs in the chamber.
“Trade queries are shared with members and potential entrepreneurs. We annually confer awards to manufacturers and exporters to encourage them,” he said.
