President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President All Karachi Industrial Alliance (AKIA), Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain on Wednesday said COAS Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa has responded to Indian according to the aspirations of the masses. Masses need not to worry as the army has all the abilities and capabilities to frustrate unholy designs of the enemies, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Indian annexation of Kashmir has put the world’s peace at stake which will damage all regional economies and push millions in poverty.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that the Indian economy will be damaged more than other countries.
The former minister noted that India will fail to make Kashmir its part, impose a Palestine like solution or reduce Muslim majority to a minority.
He said that Modi’s adventurism has emerged as a great threat to the region and world and New Delhi’s insistence that Kashmir is an internal issue is illogical otherwise the US president would not have offered mediation on the issue. Now, India can plan a terrorist activity in any city to put blame on Pakistan and push the Kashmir issue into the background, he added.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that India has already slipped one notch to become the seventh-largest economy of the world, it plants to boost GDP from $2.7 trillion to $5 trillion by 2024 and boost falling growth rate which is now under threat. Indian stock investors have lost 1.5 trillion rupees, investors have pulled out two billion dollars in a few days, the rupee has hit six years low, therefore, India should choose peace over tensions. “Peace should be given a chance to save the world from catastrophe and irreparable loss as a little miscalculation on the part of India or Pakistan can result in a horrible nuclear war killing billions,” he warned.
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Mian Zahid suggests affordable internet service to help boost economy, reduce poverty
President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President All Karachi Industrial Alliance (AKIA), Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain on Friday said internet should be recognized as a good tool to lift people out of poverty. Pakistan should provide free internet to women, students, and small traders while cell phones should be used for education. He said that there are 150 million mobile users in Pakistan, 55 million use broadband, while broadband usage is expected to jump by 44 percent by 2020 which will increase GDP by 4.1 percent. Pakistan can benefit from Chinese experience which lifted 700 million people out of poverty with the help of some tools including the internet, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that taxes should be reduced on ICT services and duties on cell phone import should be reduced to help empower the poor.
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Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that China has planned to eradicate poverty by next year as people of remote areas are now connected through the internet which the same is helping improve education, agriculture, industry, and trade.
The former minister noted that 5G will help China create eight million new jobs while the whole country could be covered by 5G services in three years.
Pakistan can also improve ICT infrastructure to ensure rapid development and reduce poverty. Investors need to deal with dozens of departments and there is no end to their demands which acts as a disincentive that should be noticed, he said. The business leader noted that mobile is also an important tool to eradicate poverty, therefore, taxes and duties on cell phones should be reduced while telecom companies should be directed to improve their services. He said that in 2017 five companies tried to assemble mobiles in Pakistan but to no avail.
He said that ease of doing business should be promoted, the legal framework should be improved, technology parks should be established, research and development should be promoted and an action plan should be finalized without delay to improve the overall situation to reduce poverty which is in line with the aspirations of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
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Tax evasion resulting in poverty, unemployment and illiteracy, says Mian Zahid
President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President All Karachi Industrial Alliance (AKIA), Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said rampant tax evasion is resulting in poverty, unemployment and illiteracy in the country.
“Loans and grants can never be a substitute to the economic activity which is imperative for the national development,” he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that regressive taxation regime introduced by many countries has killed the economy activity keeping the dependent on loans and charity.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that no amount of borrowing or charity can help a country as economic activity is the only solution to the problems.
The former minister noted that reduced economic activity triggers poverty, illiteracy and child labour putting future of the country at stake.
He said that our economic situation is worst in South Asia; inflation is highest in the region which increasing taxes are opposing economic progress. Giving an example, he said that many African nations have imposed thirty percent income tax, twenty percent value added tax and 45 to 50 percent duties on imports which has made local and foreign investments impossible despite very cheap labour.
Mian Zahid Hussain noted that majority of African and other poor nations have imposed these taxes to please institutions like IMF which has reduced their chance of development to zero.
Policies like difficult rules and regulations in the name of reforms, penalising masses to improve GDP and choosing economic depression have failed in many countries therefore we should not repeat them, he opined.
Policymakers must learn a lesson from other countries because our economy is still left with some energy which is not favoured by some influential countries.