(PDP) – Page 3 – Newswire Pakistan

April 24, 2022April 25, 2022

Huge debt burden may doom economy: Altaf Shakoor

Karachi, April 24, 2022 (PPI-OT):Expressing grave concern over swelling foreign loans and their neck breaking interests, Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor Sunday warned that the huge debt burden may doom our economy and make the country another Sri Lanka. He said in a statement that Pakistan is one of the 52 countries facing severe debt crisis. The most critical problem faced by the country’s economy is repayment and servicing of external debt. Persistent borrowing creates a spiral with more borrowing generating an impending economic crisis.

The empirical evidence overwhelmingly supports the view that a large portion of the government debt has negative impact on economic growth potential, and in many cases the impact gets more pronounced as debt increases. He said the high degree of indebtedness has made Pakistan more vulnerable to economic shocks and weakened the country politically vis-a-vis powerful external lenders. It has also greatly reduced Pakistan’s ability to invest in education and healthcare.

He said according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections Pakistan government’s gross debt will be as high as 71.3 percent of GDP in 2022. Pakistan’s GDP growth at 4 per cent during the current fiscal year. He said that as per an IMF report inflation rate would be in double digits at 11.2 per cent for the year 2022 against 8.9 per cent in 2021. He said this is a really worrisome situation.

He said that the outgoing government of PTI heavily burdened Pakistan with costly loans. Pakistan’s public debt has soared by over Rs18 trillion in the last three and a half years of the outgoing Imran Khan’s government, according to a statement from the central bank. This is more than the liabilities accumulated by any government in the country’s history.

He said that wrong government policies have made Pakistan economy crumbling under heavy burden of loans. The previous governments of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had added nearly Rs18 trillion to the public debt in 10 years, a mark that the ousted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government crossed in just three and a half years. Quoting a report, he said that the finance ministry has also been left at the mercy of commercial banks that are taking loans from the central bank at around 9.8 per cent but are giving funds to the government at 12.7 per cent for up to one year.

Shakoor said that the accumulation of debt is a direct result of the gap between expenditures and revenues, which is widening due to debt servicing obligations and defense needs, and the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) failure to enhance revenue collection to a sustainable level.

He said that notably, the external debt of the federal government increased at an alarming pace of 90 per cent to Rs15.1 trillion in the last three and a half years. He said we are victims of debt-trap diplomacy. It is a trap in which a creditor country or institution extends debt to a borrowing nation partially, or solely, to increase the lender’s political leverage.

Altaf Shakoor said that a high level of external debt is linked with decreased economic growth but there are policies options that can help economies keep growing. Countries often borrow from foreign lenders, i.e. take on external debt, to meet their expenditure needs. These loans are usually paid in the currency in which the loan was made. While an efficient use of debt finance can generate sustainable economic growth, high levels of external debt can be especially risky for developing countries.

He said it the need of the hour to find workable alternatives to borrowing. He said significant increases in tax and aid will be needed to ensure that the country can afford the necessary investments in healthcare, education and social protection in order to end extreme poverty. He said we must do more to improve tax collection to reduce the need for borrowing.

He asked to revamp tax collection policies of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) by increasing the ratio of direct taxes and tighten a noose around powerful tax evaders mostly belonging to might political elite class. He hoped that the new economic team of Shehbaz Sharif government would find some creative solutions to avoid debt trap and take bold steps to generate internal funding so that country may not become another Sri Lanka.

For more information, contact:
Press Secretary,
Pasban Democratic Party (PDP)
Pasban Central Secretariat
Office # 9, Five Star Center,
Block 11, University Road, Opp. Ibne Sina Hospital,
Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-34024480-81
Cell: +92-322-2212434
Email: pasban.ppick@gmail.com
Website: www.pasban.org

April 23, 2022April 25, 2022

Pasban Democratic Party demands end to fuel crisis, Karachi loadshedding

Karachi, April 23, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pakistan Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor expressing grave concern over ongoing electricity load shedding in the holy month of Ramadan on Saturday demanded from the government to overcome fuel crisis and end power outages on war footing basis.

He said in a statement that load shedding has not only affected households but also marred small businesses, shopkeepers, traders and artisans. He said the Eid season; the biggest shipping season of the year is Pakistan is about to start, but the hours long electricity load shedding has already affected it. He said tailors and other skilled workers using electric machines face severe problems due to load shedding.

He said housewives are tormented due to power outages as they can’t prepare Sehri and Iftari due to load shedding. He said water supply in multi-storied building is also badly affected due to power outages. Altaf Shakoor said that the government must procure LNG and other fuels to run power plants smoothly. He said it is the job of policymakers to ensure sustainable fuel supply in the country for smooth power generation. He said the circular debt in electricity and gas sector is very high and it is sagging our already faltering economy. He asked the government to take serious steps to resolve this most serious issue.

PDP Chairman said that industrial production has virtually come to standstill due to fuel shortage and power load shedding. He asked how the wheels of industry would run when there is no electricity. He said stalled industrial production has delay a deadly blow to economy. He said that the policies dictated by international lenders have played havoc with economy.

He said political bickering in the country has further worsened the situation. He said that it is responsibility of the political forces to join hands on a broad based agenda to salvage our failing economy. He said growing inefficiency and line losses of DISCOs are increasing bills of electricity end-co summers, but the NEPRA has failed to perform its regulatory role in a true spirit. He said there is no one to take care of the interests of electricity consumers who are being looted with both hands.

Altaf Shakoor demanded urgent and revolutionary steps to check power outages on immediate basis. He said the government should waive off all taxes from solar and alternative energy equipment to promote cheap, clean renewable energy to give some relief to Pakistani power consumers.

He hoped that the new government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would take required steps in a true sense of urgency to overcome lingering load shedding of electricity in whole Pakistan, especially, the megacity Karachi that is hub of commerce, trade and industry, besides being a powerful revenue generating engine for the nation and the country.

April 18, 2022April 19, 2022

Karachi needs generous package to revamp infrastructure

Karachi, April 18, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor on Monday demanded a special package for the uplift of megacity Karachi on war footing basis. Now the provincial government of Sindh, federal government in Islamabad and major political stakeholder of the megacity, MQM-P, are on one page and it is a proper time to pay a serious attention to the neglected port city, says Mr Shakoor in a statement.

He said pot-holed streets, broken gutter lines and acute dearth of potable water and lack of proper commuting facilities are amongst the burning problems of Karachi needing an urgent and healing focus of the federal and provincial governments. He said that the country would go to fresh polls after completion of the remaining tenure of present assemblies and it would also be in the best interest of the ruling parties to win the minds and hearts of voters of the megacity, which can be only done by serving the city and its residents.

Altaf Shakoor said that small-scale flyovers and underpasses should be constructed at busy streets in every area of the megacity, especially in district South, to cope with agonizing traffic jams. He said old and smokey junk-class minibuses should be banned in the city to pave way for modern wide-bodied public transport buses.

He said sadly after 11pm public transport could hardly be found in many parts of the city and commuters have simply to walk or hire costly rickshaws. He said all closed public transport routes in the megacity should be revived besides introducing new routes in suburban neighbourhoods. He said public transport should be made available till 2:00 AM. He said the Green Line rapid bus transit should be urgently extended to Mereweather Tower, preferably up to Keamari, to facilitate commuters. He said all other announced bus rapid transit projects including Orange Line, Red Line and Blue Line, should be physically started, besides working on the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project with an accelerated speed.

He said the megacity needs dozens of new universities and higher education institutions to cater the needs of growing number of students. He said the project of an Education City was announced about a decade back but it is practically still on paper only. He demanded that the Education City should be made a reality instead of a perpetual political lollipop.

Altaf Shakoor reminded that the port city is an industrial hub, but sadly its industrial estates face immense problems, including lack of water, electricity, gas, proper roads and streetlights, security and most importantly public transport system. Shakoor said millions of workers in industrial estates of Karachi are compelled to use bicycles and motorcycles as they do not get proper public transport facilities. He said the part of the KCR that links the industrial areas of Landhi and Korangi to the main city is encroached upon by land mafia and slum dwellers. He demanded to make this KCR track also functional on urgent basis.

He said private water tanker mafia is looting the Karachiites with both hands because the corruption-marred Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) has miserably failed to properly supply potable water to citizens. He said sadly in many city areas there is simply no water supply system of KWSB, which is pathetic. Shakoor asked to complete K-IV water project on urgent basis and revamp water supply system through pipelines in whole megacity.

He said that to boost job supply and industrial production, two industrial corridors should be set up along Karachi-Hyderabad and Karachi-Keti Bunder highways. He said the abandoned fish harbour of Korangi should be made fully functional. Altaf Shakoor said all these things need billions of rupees and both the provincial and federal governments.

April 17, 2022April 18, 2022

Need stressed for bring political reforms

Karachi, April 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor on Saturday underscored the need for urgent political reforms and serious development of the national economy. “The political reforms are badly needed so that the common man can also take part in local bodies’ elections. For this purpose, the steep fees for candidature of LB polls should be reduced so that ordinary citizens can also think of taking part in the elections, as presently only the elite class can afford the higher fees and expenditures of polls,” he said addressing a party meeting at Gizri.

Mr Shakoor said that to solve the lingering issues of megacity Karachi, it should be given a constitutional status of Charter City. He said people can’t bear more burden of price hike and inflation. He said supply of fuel on affordable prices should be the first step towards giving relief to the masses. He said the previous government was doomed as it failed to control the price hike, adding the present government of Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif should not repeat the same mistake.

Shakoor demanded overhauling poor public transport system in Karachi on emergency basis. He demanded accelerating pace of work on Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) and lingering bus rapid transit projects. He regretted that the Karachi in the only megacity of the world that have the worst public transport system in the world.

He further regretted that the rulers have always betrayed Karachi and the Karachiites. He said Imran Khan and his party sold Karachi cheaply and misused the mandate given to them by the megacity. He said that there are good leaders in Karachi but due to a corrupt system they can’t compete in the power politics presently dominated by the elite class. He said Karachi gives the lion’s share of revenue but still it goes neglected.

He said the skilled manpower of Karachi working abroad provides almost 70 percent of the foreign remittances. These sons of soil face the worst discrimination due to corrupt quota system that should be ended for good now. He urged the voters of Karachi to recognize their friends and foes and give vote to the people who are committed to the megacity and its people. PDP Gizri-Clifton chapter president Mian Riaz, Shahbaz Mughal Shaka and others were also present.

March 13, 2022March 14, 2022

Rising inflation serious threat to economy: Altaf Shakoor

Karachi, March 13, 2022 (PPI-OT):Unbridled inflation is a very serious threat to our fragile economy and it would shake the very socioeconomic foundations of the country if not controlled on war footing basis, said Pasban Democratic Party PDP Chairman Altaf Shakoor here Sunday. He said the most severe effect of inflation is on our foreign loans. With a free fall of Pakistani rupee these foreign loans and their neck breaking interest further rise, putting even more pressure on our budgetary allocations.

He said the lion’s share of our budget already goes to our foreign lenders like World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Asian Development Bank. He said huge CPEC loans are also a big national liability, and growing inflation is creating very serious problems in finding a monetary space for paying back these loans and their heavy interest. He said the situation is so worsened that we have to get new foreign loans to pay interest on our old foreign loans. He said we have mortgaged the whole country and even our central bank for these foreign loans. He said unless the inflation is controlled the negative spiral of these foreign loans would continue to torment the nation and country.

He said other grave threat of the rising inflation is payment of our mammoth oil import bill. He said with a weaker rupee the oil and gas we are importing are getting costlier with every passing day. He said Pakistan despite producing oil and gas is compelled to import LNG and oil. He wondered why the oil and gas production from Pakistan are not helping us in this situation. He said perhaps our agreements with foreign oil and gas companies are behind this phenomenon. He said without bringing down inflation and strengthen Pakistani rupee our costly fuel import would continue to be syphoning away our precious foreign exchange.

Altaf Shakoor regretted that Pakistan despite being an agricultural country is compelled to import food. He said we import sugar, wheat, pulses, cooking oil and tea. He said trillions of rupees are spent every year on import of food stuffs. He said the rising inflation is making this food import very costly and it would soon go to an unbearable level if the government failed to control the hike in inflation. He said Pakistan has already been facing a dreadful food inflation. He said this inflation would likely to become a national security threat but our ruling elite is the least concerned.

He said recently finance minister Shaukat Tarin, himself, has accepted that the balance of trade is the most serious issue of Pakistan. He said this problem also has its roots in inflation. He said the weak Pakistani rupee means more costlier imports and cheaper exports. He said the historic depreciation of Pakistan rupee during the ongoing tenure of PTI government did not boost exports as was expected but it only made imports further costlier, dealing a deadly blow to Pakistani economy. He said without taming inflation and appreciating the value of rupee this issue would continue to haunt Pakistan.

He said on local front rising inflation has robbed purchasing power of the common man. He said all commodities, especially kitchen items, have gone beyond the reach of poor masses. He said millions of more families have fallen beneath the poverty line. He said hunger and malnutrition of children are rising sharply in our country thanking to the floodgates of inflation. He said the prices of medicines have hiked by more than 200 percent during the tenure of present regime. He said stunt growth due to malnutrition is affecting whole country, especially the province of Sindh. He asked the rulers to have mercy on poor children and muzzle the dreadful inflation.

Altaf Shakoor demanded to give focus on agriculture and water; rapid uplift of megacity Karachi and development of two proposed industrial corridors: Karachi to Hyderabad and Karachi to Keti Bunder industrial corridors. He said the key to national development is the uplift of Karachi and they key to the uplift of Karachi is its rapid industrialization and modernizing its public transport system.

He said the way forward is that without checking inflation our economy would continue to bleed and the ultimate sufferer would be the poor masses of Pakistan, not its elite class who is already enjoying dual nationalities. He urged all the political parties of Pakistan to place the item of controlling inflation on the top of their agendas so that the nation and country could be given rid of this menace.

February 20, 2022February 21, 2022

Focusing N-power generation must to reduce tariff: Altaf Shakoor

Karachi, February 20, 2022 (PPI-OT):In order to reduce skyrocketing tariff of electricity in the country the government should focus on power generation from the nuclear source, which is the cheapest source, said Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman and Pakistan Quami Ittehad (PQI) vice chairman Altaf Shakoor here Sunday.

He said the cost of electricity generation from nuclear source is about Rs.1 per unit, while the cost from power generation from HSD is about Rs25 per unit and from RLNG Rs 17 per unit. He said all countries in the world are focusing on nuclear source of electricity generation because it is cost effective but in Pakistan the government has turned its blind eye to this sector to save the vested interests of oil import mafia.

Resultantly, they are the hapless masses of Pakistan who are at the receiving end due to very high rates of electricity and resultant inflation. He regretted that currently, Pakistan is producing 65 per cent of electricity from fossil fuels, 27 per cent from hydropower, five per cent from nuclear power, and just four per cent from renewable sources. He said the blind dependence on power generation from fossil fuels has affected negatively on the basket price of electricity. He said to reduce power tariff it is a must to generate more power from nuclear and hydropower sources and then from the coal source, using local coal that is now plentifully available in Thar.

Mr Shakoor said the government should set up more nuclear power stations in the country and talks should be held with the friendly countries including China for technology transfer in the field of nuclear power plants. He said Pakistani scientists and engineers should be sent abroad for getting advanced training in this field. He said Pakistani universities should open new departments in the field of nuclear power generation for a better research and innovation. He said we cannot survive economically without embracing modern technologies.

Altaf Shakoor said we are also far behind in the sector of hydropower generation despite having some of the best river sources in the world. He said crucial matter of building new dams and water reservoirs is neglected in our country behind the veil of political slogans. He said every government including the present one seems shying away from building new dams. He said there are plenty of subjects and topics for their political games and at least the vital issue of dams should be spared from their politicking. He said new dams should be built at all costs and every federating unit should be given its due share of water without any injustice as well.

The PDP chairman said costly electricity has created a grave threat for our industry and it is not possible to run our factories and workplaces on high power tariffs anymore. He said when the electricity tarrif is hiked it opens the floodgates of inflation and the rates of everything go hiked, automatically. He said if the government is really sincere to the people of Pakistan it must reduce rates of power and gas immediately. Shakoor said power are now fed up with the hollow slogans and they want to see solid actions.

Shakoor expressed serious concerns that following the highest-ever increase in petroleum prices effective February 16, the government has prepared a plan to raise electricity prices by Rs 6.10 per unit for consumers of power Distribution Companies (Discos) for January 2022 under the monthly Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA) mechanism. He said if this increase is allowed it would prove to be the last straw on the back of the camel. He said our country could not afford this much hike in electricity rates and it would foment strong protests not only from the industry and trade but also from the poor Pakistani masses.