Islamabad
\nFormer President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt, said on Monday that adopting a clear policy for the sale of PIA is necessary as confusion will not serve any purpose.
\nHe said that every state-run organization squandering trillions of rupees ought to be sold, as the masses have been paying the price for their losses for a long time.
\nShahid Rasheed Butt said in a statement issued here today that the government has not yet made it clear that this institution will be sold entirely or that the government will retain some shares.
\nHe stated that the country\u2019s interest lies in selling PIA altogether to avoid the annual loss of billions of rupees.
\nThe business leader stated t the sale of Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore airports could only occur after the PIA sale. He said that selling national assets is undesirable, but Pakistan has no other option. He continued, saying that despite spending trillions of rupees, the government has not yet been able to turn the sick units into profitable businesses.
\nIn addition to PIA, we should sell all other institutions that squander trillions of rupees to alleviate the burden on low-income individuals. On the other hand, the remaining profitable institutions should be protected from politicians.
\nShahid Rasheed Butt said that currently, taxes have been imposed on air travel to such an extent that no one is ready to travel in first class, business class, or club class.
\nFor this reason, many airlines have started selling first-class, business-class, and club-class tickets in black to avoid taxes.
\nPassengers are asked to purchase economy class tickets and they pay an additional twenty to thirty thousand rupees to sit in first class after boarding the plane which is not documented.
\nThis way, the passenger gets cheaper travel; the airline avoids additional tax, while the government loses millions of rupees in revenue.
\nShahid Rasheed Butt stated that the IMF has yet to pay the final installment of the $1.1 billion loan to Pakistan and has not included it in the meeting\u2019s agenda for early May. The lender is waiting for some steps on Pakistan\u2019s behalf, after which it will be better able to make a decision.
\nHe said that for Pakistan to achieve its goals of becoming a middle-income economy and ending the ongoing cyclical crisis, the country must travel the same road that other countries have successfully gone.
\nHe added that the government must undertake reforms honestly to control the government\u2019s role in the economy and encourage the private sector to take the lead in growth.
\nOur economy must be integrated with the region\u2019s and global economy by removing barriers to trade and investment.
\nThese reforms, on the other hand, will have to be founded on policies that are designed to maintain fiscal stability over time, said Mr Butt.
\nTo revitalise the Pakistani economy, it was more crucial to prioritise the implementation of reforms than negotiating the size of the loan.
\nAt this point, it is essential to speed up the reforms and increase the emphasis placed on the framework of reforms to allow Pakistan to realise its full growth potential.
\nOur elite is still endeavouring to find a way to circumvent the stringent reforms that will hurt their privileges, which is the source of our crisis because geopolitical rent is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain.
\nA nation burdened by debt cannot hope to daydream about becoming a middle-income economy.
\nHe demanded that the sale of PIA be finalized within two months to start reducing the deficit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt, said on Monday that adopting a clear policy for the sale of PIA is necessary as confusion will not serve any purpose. He said that every state-run organization squandering trillions of rupees ought to be sold, as the masses […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-401921","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n