Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday stressed Pakistan’s economic growth must be export-led, saying growth without an export orientation will be meaningless.
Addressing a meeting with leading industrialists, businessmen and entrepreneurs alongside Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Sharif said the government, in consultation with the business community, had introduced long-pending structural reforms over the past two and a half years.
He said the purpose of this meeting was to seek the business community’s opinion, as the country had entered the first quarter of the fiscal year, on challenges to export enhancement and possible solutions to address them.
He described the process as the outcome of sustained teamwork between the government and the private sector. He said Rs. 800 billion had been recovered in one year through enforcement measures alone, without imposing any new taxes.
Sharif said cases pending in courts for the past 10 years had been pursued and followed up, particularly those involving indirect sales tax paid by consumers. He said such an improvement in enforcement had not been witnessed before in the country’s history.
The prime minister recalled that, before the budget, multiple rounds of consultations had been held with the business community on various economic issues. During the process, the finance and commerce ministers, along with their secretaries, had also met stakeholders before he himself interacted with them.
He said recommendations put forward by the business community during earlier meetings, including those held during difficult periods, had helped the government introduce structural changes with their support. He dubbed the reforms a long journey achieved through collective effort.
The prime minister said it was for this reason that the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for the first time, extended the relevant allowance, while the lender’s managing director, during her interaction with the prime minister, had agreed to offer a tax waiver.
He vowed the government would continue to proceed on this path with the guidance and assistance of the business community. He said special tax relief had been extended to exporters in the budget because economic growth had to be driven by exports.