Observer Report
Davos
Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that reforming an economy which is “sick” is a painful process.
Speaking at the Pakistan Breakfast Meet in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday, Imran said his government had done remarkably well during its first year.
“In the first year we reduced our current account deficit by 75 per cent, which I think is a great achievement, and this is reflected in the stabilisation of the rupee, the stock market and in foreign investment.
“We are headed in the right direction, but struggle lies ahead. However, I am an optimist and I see good times ahead for Pakistan.”
Commenting on the shortcomings of previous governments, the prime minister said that in the past, the country neglected its most important asset – its people.
“We need to return to making Pakistan an inclusive state [with] inclusive development. Our whole idea is to now become the second government since the 60s to spend money on industrialisation.
“We are focusing on promoting industrial-isation so that we can create wealth which can then be spent on [uplifting] the bottom tier of society,” he said.
Referring to his government’s social welfare measure known as the Ehsaas Programme, Imran said: “We have the most ambitious poverty alleviation programme and, in very difficult times, have allocated Rs190 billion for this endeavour.
“My belief is that if we can concentrate on the bottom section of our society, facilitate investors and industrialists while making it easy for them to do business, and improve our governance system, we can release the [untapped] potential of Pakistan.”
The prime minister maintained that when he read a blog by Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, he discovered that there were a lot of similarities between the challenges the two countries face.
“He [Mahathir] had said that the biggest challenge for Malaysia was an entrenched corrupt status quo, the same is with us. We are up against a corrupt status quo which ruled Pakistan for 30 years.
They do not want us to succeed because the government succeeding means they will be out of power and end up in jail.”
Continuing, the prime minister said that Pakistan’s state institutions were deteriorating. “The first thing that the corrupt do is destroy state institutions because that’s the only way they can make money. That is another big problem we face.
But, we are slowly trying to restore them, institution by institution.
“Another problem the country faces is the accumulation of huge debts by the previous government. How do you fund health and education after you are left with a small amount [after paying your debts]?
“But the biggest challenge is perhaps the energy sector, we have this huge, huge circular debt in electricity. We have decided to get together with stakeholders [to find a solution] because we cannot put more burden on the consumers,” the prime minister said.
Commenting on the lessons he learnt from his career as a cricketer, Imran said that playing sports, you learn the most difficult lessons.
“However, what I took away was to never lose your head when you are going up and to learn how to face the bad times.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has roundly rejected the notion being projected by US officials that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is some sort of a debt trap.
In an interview with American media outlet CNBC, PM Imran said: “Pakistan is grateful to China as they helped us in difficult times by making investments.
“We were at rock bottom when the Chinese [government] came and rescued us,” the PM said.
Responding to a question, the prime minister rejected the impression that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has made Pakistan ‘indebted’ to China. He pointed out that Chinese loans account for only 5-6 per cent of Pakistan’s total loan portfolio.He said CPEC envisages cooperation in different sectors, including technology transfer in the agriculture sector, and “because of Chinese investment, we have been able to attract more foreign investment in the country. We are establishing special economic zones under the project.
In the same interview, PM Imran also called upon US President Donald Trump and the United Nations to intervene for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. He said Kashmir is a far more serious problem than the world realises.
He said India has been taken over by the extremist Hindutva ideology embodied by the far-right party RSS, and recalled that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a life member of this extremist outfit.
Referring to the situation in occupied Kashmir, he said eight million people have been living under siege since August 5 last year.
“The Indian forces have picked up thousands of Kashmiri teenagers and arrested all their political leaders,” he noted. The premier described it as a serious situation and warned that the friction could potentially spill over into a conflict between two nuclear-armed countries. When asked about tensions in the Middle East and the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran, the prime minister said war is not a solution to any problem.
He warned that a conflict with Iran will be disastrous for developing countries as it will lead to a sharp spike in oil prices. He said the sensible way forward is dialogue. “The US has spent more than a trillion dollars in Afghanistan and still people are dying there. Let me tell you, Iran will be more difficult.” “And I told the same thing to [US] President [Donald] Trump, that war is not the solution.” On the question of possibilities for a dialogue between the two countries, he said, “The Iranian leadership is receptive of the option”. “They were willing to talk,” he said.
The prime minister made it clear that Pakistan will only be a partner in peace. He reminded the interviewer that Pakistan had suffered heavily both in terms of human and material losses in the war on terrorism.
When asked to comment on the mistrust between the two countries and how can they can come closer, the prime minister said problems occurred when former military ruler Pervez Musharraf joined the US war in Afghanistan.
