Business community terms IMF talks a failure

Businessmen and industrialists have expressed dismay over the outcome of Pakistan’s negotiations with the IMF and WB.

KARACHI: Businessmen and industrialists have expressed dismay over the outcome of Pakistan’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank and termed them extremely hopeless.

Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (Kati) Chairman Razzak Hashim Paracha said that this is not the time to further burden the nation with another loan as the country is not in a position to pay off huge loans already piled up due to the biggest natural catastrophe which has not only displaced over 25 million people but caused monetary losses of billions.

“Pakistan needs grants and moratorium on loan repayment as the exchequer is not in a position to pay off huge loans which have crossed $54 billion,” Paracha said.

He said that people are not in a position to pay already imposed taxes and if the government levies any other tax the whole system would collapse.

“The loans acquired by previous governments by persuasion were not spent on development or in national interest but were mostly usurped by corrupt rulers. This happened due to absence of any monitoring by the donors and thus the nation is not liable to pay these loans,” Paracha said.

President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), Mian Zahid Husain, said in a statement that negotiations between Pakistan and donor agencies can in no way be termed successful as the team is back with another huge burden of so-called aid.

He said that the country would not be able to bear any additional burden of taxes and the simplest and easiest way to come out of this mammoth crisis is to seek loan write-off from the donors.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2010.