Speaking at the EconFest in Lahore on Saturday, Minister for Planning and Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan’s economy cannot get strength without curbing the menace of tax evasion.
“To develop the economy, Pakistan needs to curb tax evasion, increase tax collection, and increase its exports from around Rs30 billion to Rs100 billion within the next five to eight years,” he said.
The minister also highlighted the need to focus on developing youth IT skills, switch to renewable energy resources to tackle climate and energy issues and provide equity in education and health.
Explaining that a society in conflict cannot achieve success in policy he said, “Firstly, we were on course to becoming the next Japan of South Asia but the 1965 war set us back. Secondly, in 1991, investment came in many sectors with the participation of the private sector but the the-then government was thrown out, which again derailed Pakistan’s economic progress,” said the minister, adding that, “The third chance we got was in the shape of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The Chinese government was very interested in investing in Pakistan but the new regime that came to power in 2018 started alleging corruption in the CPEC project, which again derailed Pakistan.”
“The country’s interest should not be sacrificed for the sake of conflict or politics. We must learn to collaborate and cooperate to improve the economy,” insisted Iqbal.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2023.
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