PM, COAS try to assuage frayed nerves in business circles

Body comprising traders announced to 'amicably' resolve issues with NAB

ISLAMABAD: Taking stock of the multiple problems ailing the country's economy and hindering growth, the top civil and military leadership has assured the business community that its grievances would be addressed.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday announced the formation of a committee comprising members of the business community to amicably resolve their issues with National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

He told businessmen that national development was linked to creating 'ease of doing business' and that was the responsibility of the government.

Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa also met with the country's top tycoons and told them that national security was intimately linked to the economy. Gathering businessmen and the government's economic team under the same roof, he said the aim of bringing the stakeholders on one platform was to formulate recommendations for a "synergistic way forward".

The premier held a meeting with a delegation of business leaders belonging to various trade and industry chambers at the PM's Office. He announced the establishment of a body comprising businessmen to sort out their issues with NAB. "A strategy has been chalked out to address the problems faced by the business community as the country's future is linked to a strong economy," he said.

"A close and solid partnership between the government and the business community is important for national development and their success is mutual," he added.

"The government wants to provide maximum facilities to the business community to promote profitable trade activity in the country."

The meeting was attended by PM's Adviser on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Commerce Adviser Abdul Razaq Dawood, Board of Investment Chairman Zubair Gilani and senior officials.

The presidents of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Karachi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Islamabad and Faisalabad presented their suggestions to the prime minister to boost commercial activities, particularly for the increase of exports.

They informed the prime minister about the problems they were facing.

PM Imran also met a delegation of renowned industrialists of the country and told them that the government was not supposed to do business and was responsible for creating 'ease of doing business' instead as it was the only way to bring about national development.

The delegation comprised Mian Mansha, Bashir Ali Muhammad, Khalil Sattar, Khalid Mehmood, Shahid Abdullah, Arif Habib, Musaddiq Zulqarnain, Usman Khalid Waheed, Sikandar Mustafa, Khawar Anwar Khawaja, Ali Habib and Javed Afridi.

The premier's economic team including federal ministers Hammad Azhar, Syed Ali Zaidi, Khusro Bakhtiar, advisers Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Abdul Razak Dawood and Dr Ishrat Hussain and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi also attended the meeting.

The prime minister lauded industrialists' remarkable contribution to the economy. The premier and his economic team discussed taxation, duties and measures to boost exports with the delegation.

PM Imran said he was holding a series of meetings with members of the business community and the government had taken various policy measures on the basis of previous consultations with them.

Earlier, the army chief while addressing a gathering of businessmen and the government's economic team said national security was intimately linked to the economy.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) quoted Gen Qamar as saying that prosperity was a "function of balance in security needs and economic growth".

The discussion was held during the second round of a seminar titled 'Interplay of Economy and Security' at the Army Auditorium.

Gen Qamar informed the participants about the improvement in the internal security environment of the country which had created space for increased economic activity.

"Accessibility and responsiveness of government economic team to the business community and displayed understanding between public and private institutions is a good sign for the intended positive trajectory in economic activity," the chief of army staff said.

He added that the aim of various discussions and seminars was to bring stakeholders on one platform to formulate recommendations for a "synergistic way forward".

The government's economic team informed the businessmen present at the seminar about various incentives being introduced to facilitate them and the "encouraging results of the efforts to stabilise the national economy".

The businessmen shared their suggestions with the economic team to improve the environment for ease of doing business.

They assured the economic team that they would cooperate with the government in the implementation of its reforms and also play their part by paying taxes and investing in a socially and economically responsible manner.

The army chief concluded the seminar by thanking all the participants for using the joint forum for discussions that would lead to the formulation of recommendations for subsequent processes and implementation.

With additional input from APP