Speaking to the business community at the opening of the National Crisis Management Cell at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), he said the strict policy of the government on Hawala trade has paid off, as remittances have reached $10 billion. He added that this amount could be doubled if “we successfully channel the present money coming from illegal channels.”
“Sometimes governments need to take tough decisions. I will soon talk to these (Hawala) people to ask them to shift to legal channels and help Pakistan come out of economic problems,” he said. Refusing to divulge how much money was confiscated, he said, “I can only tell that the money was mostly coming from Middle Eastern countries.”
He said the Crisis Management Cell would receive complaints of businessmen from all over the city with regard to extortion, kidnapping and harassment, after which swift action would be taken.
He said the business community has suffered a lot because of deteriorating security situation and decreasing foreign investment in the country over the last decade.
“I want to assure our business community the government stands behind you. The present government will ensure safety of foreign businessmen from airports to hotels to help rebuild their confidence,” he added.
He said the security situation has improved over the last few months which must be reflected in the economy, as the government is now giving due importance to the economic agenda.
He also said that the government has approved a project of modern security systems for Karachi involving satellite surveillance to control crimes in the economic hub of the country.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement MNA Dr Farooq Sattar urged all political parties to work single-mindedly on the economic agenda to address problems of the country. “Gone are the days when politics was steering the economic agenda, today’s world is governed by economy which moulds political agenda of countries,” he said.
He said that the reformed general sales tax (RGST) is not the only way to improve tax collection as the government can still increase revenue collection by restructuring the tax system.
He said the government should introduce a proper system to tax the incomes of feudal lords and review the support price system, subsidies being given to the upper class, public sector leakages, land reforms and deweaponisation of the entire country.
KCCI President Muhammad Saeed Shafique said that the Crisis Management Cell is a step towards better security of the business community in Karachi. He said that government efforts to control extortion and kidnapping have been very fruitful because the number of reported cases has decreased over the last few weeks.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2011.
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