Staff Reporter
Faisalabad
Former FPCCI Mian Muhammad Adrees has said that Corona is a pandemic and Pakistan must evolve a comprehensive national strategy in collaboration with international organizations to contain its ill impacts in addition to efficiently handling the chronic issues of unemployment, poverty, exports, foreign remittances and FDI (Foreign Direct Investment).
Commenting on the global scenario, he said that Pakistan economy was already in deep crisis before Corona which has further aggravated due to corona related global slowdown and lockdown. He mentioned IMF Extended Economic Facility (EEF) of US$ 6.6 billion extended to Pakistan to restructure and revive its economy. He said that Pakistan has just started implementing it when Corona virus caused sluggishness in Global economy.
Mian Adrees said that experts have estimated that world will bear approximately $ 8.8 trillion loss only due to Corona. Explaining its fall out on Pakistan, he said that another 8.3 million people will lose their jobs while the ratio of poverty will jump to 33.5%.
Quoting the statistics of Finance Ministry, the former President FPCCI told that tax collection will witness a shortfall of Rs.700-900 billion during April to June 2020. Similarly, the revenue will also experience a steep decline from Rs.4800 billion to Rs.3905 billion. Thus the budget deficit will jump to 9.4%. “At the same time, the exports will decline to US$ 21.22 billion”, he said and added that unemployment at global level will also hit hard Pakistan as we are expecting a tumultuous decrease of $2 billion in foreign remittances. He mentioned an independent source and told that Faisalabad suffer Rs.7 billion per day loss during the current lockdown period. This during initial 24 days, we have already suffered losses to the tune of Rs.168 billion.
Continuing, Mian Adrees said that Government delayed in assessing the quantum of economic loss due to corona and later it was forced to lift ban and allow limited economic activities to different sectors in phased manner. He termed lockdown as an “economic death trap” for volatile economies like Pakistan and hoped that the Government has now changed its mind and was going to open all sectors contributing towards national economy.
