LAHORE: Pakistan needs to focus on developing district-level economies and empowering local areas to revive economic growth, business leader SM Tanveer said on Saturday.
Addressing the National Policy Dialogue in Lahore, the United Business Group leader said China had developed entire cities by strengthening district economies and Pakistan needed to adopt a similar approach.
“We need to empower our districts,” Tanveer said, expressing concern over the country’s declining exports, rising population and lack of progress in economic growth.
He said new industries were not being established in Pakistan and existing factories were increasingly shutting down. Despite the country’s diverse climate and agricultural potential, he added, the agriculture sector had failed to achieve the required growth.
Tanveer cited examples of untapped economic potential across the country, saying Pakistan had a 55,000-megawatt wind corridor, significant coal reserves in Thar and a furniture industry in Chiniot with export potential.
He also referred to Sialkot’s reputation for producing high-quality pickles and said Gujranwala, once known as the “Manchester of textiles”, had suffered a serious decline.
“Despite all these resources and capabilities, we are going around the world with a begging bowl,” he said.
Tanveer warned that the country could not continue on its current trajectory and called for urgent measures to “rescue” the economy.
He also proposed holding a referendum on the question of creating new provinces, saying the Constitution provided for such an option.
“If a province is to be created or not, hold a referendum,” he said, urging policymakers to take a decision on the issue.
He warned that failure to take timely steps to address the country’s problems would have serious consequences for future generations.
