LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday expressed grave concern over the Faisalabad incident and termed it a blow to the national economy.
“The LCCI is a non-political entity and desires that business activities should continue without any hindrance, therefore, it would not support any action that hampers economic activities.”
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In a statement issued here, LCCI President Ijaz A Mumtaz said that closure of businesses would only result in economic degradation and nothing else. Once the industrial wheel comes to a halt, it would take a long time to get back on rails.
The LCCI president said that it is not the business community alone that was worried over the ongoing situation but almost all the segments of society are disturbed.
Ijaz A Mumtaz said that political debate and economic policy considerations require convergence at this critical juncture of country’s history. “This is a prerequisite to help reduce dependence on International Financial Institutions (IFIs) like IMF and the WB and for paving way for self-reliance in coming years.
“Political stability is must for economic development therefore all the political parties should show maturity and try to resolve issues through talks”, he added.
Ijaz A. Mumtaz said that Pakistan, at this point in time, is in dire need of stability in policy making and to achieve the very objective, both the politicians and the business leaders would have to join their heads.
To compete with the great nations of the world, the LCCI President said, the country needs a growth of eight per cent for more than five years.
LCCI President said that all the political forces should, without any further delay, initiate consultations with the economic leadership, including the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, to chalk out an elaborate plan of action, aimed at reducing dependence on external assistance and achieving the long-cherished economic goals.
He said that availability of cheaper equity is a prerequisite to help expedite the process of industrialization in the country that in turn would also bring down the graph of unemployment. “Unemployment is mother of a number of social ills being witnessed by the country today and the private sector has the solution provided it is facilitated through a proper methodology.”
Ijaz A. Mumtaz also stressed the need for an early consensus in all the provinces for early initiation of work on mega water reservoirs including Kalabagh Dam to overcome electricity shortage and the power tariff issue.
