Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday called on the country’s business community to bring back at least 30% of the wealth they had parked abroad ahead of the upcoming federal budget, due in June.
“The business community are requested to bring back at least 30% of their money from abroad,” he told a gathering at Federation House in Karachi, while alleging over $100 billion had left the country in the last three years. Without offering any details on how this large a sum had left the country amid stringent controls, he claimed that arresting just 1-2 people in Karachi would reveal all.
“If businessmen decide today, $10 billion can come back before the budget,” he said. “We will not discuss how the money went abroad,” he said, warning authorities could trace these funds if necessary. “If someone thinks it cannot be traced, it would only take picking up one or two people in Karachi to find everything,” he claimed.
Naqvi’s demand from businessmen came ahead of Islamabad preparing to repay a $3.5 billion loan to the United Arab Emirates, with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb confirming this would have an impact on the external account. According to the minister, Saudi Arabia has committed to provide financial support.
During his address, Naqvi assured the business community of facilitation, claiming Pakistan offers strong returns on investment. “The profit Pakistan offers cannot be found anywhere else in the world,” he claimed, adding the government would be more inclined to offer more incentives if they brought back some of their wealth parked abroad.
The interior minister also said proposals to grant a “special passport” to traders would soon be preented to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to facilitate “genuine businessmen” facing visa issues. He said efforts were also underway to make the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) more business-friendly, adding the entire business community should not be penalized for the actions of a few.
“We cannot punish the whole business community because of 1-2% of people,” he said, while raising concerns about money-changers. Asserting such businesses were often used for managing private funds, he maintained no tourist ever exchanges money through them. “We have also held a meeting with the finance minister to ask what these money changers are doing,” he added.
Naqvi also hoped that the country’s efforts to stem illegal migration would improve its global standing. “We are trying to bring the Pakistani passport ranking from 99 to 50,” he added.