While economies of the world are progressing at fast rates, the Pakistani policymakers are still trying to make progress by carrying the burden of failed policies and hackneyed methods on their shoulders. The exports of the country are declining because of the high cost of doing business and low production. The country still relies on the export of tradition commodities and has failed to explore markets for value added goods. The country’s cottage industry has marvelously been expanded for the last many years despite hostile political and economic conditions, but its huge potentials are still unutilized. The government only concentrates on a few selective countries for exports. The Pakistani businessmen are also not ready to accept the new realities, diversify their products, or avail vast opportunities of business collaborations and partnership with African, Asian and European countries. In this age of information and connectivity, Pakistan is distant apart from most of the countries.
The time has come when the government ministers, businessmen and other stakeholders sit together to review and revise the industrial and export policies. The first thing the business community should do is to enhance business-to-business contacts with their counterparts in Middle East, United States and Europe. The first thing the political leadership has to do is to facilitate the business community and contain bureaucracy from misusing its powers. The regional and Asian countries are competitors of Pakistan in European and African markets and there is a need to minimize the cost of production. The business community is pushing the government to depreciate the Pakistani rupee which will put the country into another economic chaos. There is no logic in linking the declining exports with the current currency exchange rates. The depreciation of rupee will bring boom for exports, but bane for the economy. The government must revisit the causes and effects of its policies which have been introduced during its almost three-year tenure.
It is unfortunate that all the government efforts converge on one point and that is how to enhance government revenues. In government circles, it is believed that tax avoidance only prevails in this country and all the individuals in other countries are law-abiding citizens and voluntarily pay taxes. This notion is absolutely not correct as tax evasion prevails in every country of the world, but their systems do not allow tax evasion in practical terms. In an effort to meet the targets, the businessmen are left with only one option and that is to pack and leave this country to some other destinations. And that is going on for the last many years.
