The road ahead: Energy crisis, terrorism termed greatest challenges

Seminar explores PML-N’s 100-day action plan.

ISLAMABAD:

The energy crisis and armed insurgency in various parts of the country are the biggest obstacles in economic growth, stated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member National Assembly-elect Khurram Dastgir on Friday.

He was speaking at a discussion titled “New Government’s Plan of Action for 100 Days: Claims and Possibilities”, organised by the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA).  The discussion is part of its “What the People Want” series which began before the general elections. The discussion was chaired by Muhammad Ziauddin, the executive editor of The Express Tribune.



Dastgir said PML-N is trying to resolve the energy crisis on a war-footing by cutting non-developmental expenditures and diverting them to the energy sector. He admitted that it will be a difficult task since 70 per cent of the non-developmental expenditures are basically salaries for government employees.

Negotiations with the Taliban might be a good option but it is not the only option for the new government, Dastgir said. He said the various insurgencies are fundamentally different in nature and must be dealt with a fine-grain strategy, which would be announced by Nawaz Sharif once he takes oath.

He said Pakistan’s foreign and security policies need to be reassessed and the country’s international cooperation in the efforts to stop terrorism must be given a legal basis.



Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) executive director Abid Qayyum Suleri said the next five years will be tough for the public. “Insecurity breeds insecurity and all the threats Pakistan is facing are due to zero human security in the country,” Suleri said.

He said the government can improve the economy significantly just by ending the Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) — a bureaucratic mechanism that has been exploited in the past to bypass the legislature and provide tax breaks to certain lobbies — culture.

Suleri said the electricity shortage is the litmus test for the PML-N but he himself will be convinced that the party has performed well if it appoints the heads of corporations and regulatory bodies transparently on merit.

Journalist Mubarak Zeb Khan suggested that the PML-N should focus on widening the tax base, increasing tax compliance and reducing the tax gap. He said only 800,000 people in Pakistan — around 0.05 per cent of the population — pay taxes and the number of taxpayers has dropped to 23 per cent in 2012 from 29 per cent in 2011.

Khan also pointed out that there were around 2.03 million tax evaders just in the province of Punjab, according to Nadra statistics.

Dastgir agreed with the need for structural reforms. He said his party will appoint people of “integrity, character and qualification” to run public sector enterprises.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2013.