DNA

ISLAMABAD – Former President ICCI Shahid Rasheed Butt on Saturday said the economy is not in such a good shape as being presented.

A little uptick in the economy supported by unwanted subsidies should not be overstated to deceive the masses, he said.

Why the government is negotiating tranche of the loan with IMF on stringent conditions if the economy is in such a good shape, he questioned.

Shahid Rasheed Butt said that IMF conditions stoke poverty by hitting economic activities which should be avoided if the economy is taking off but it is not the case.

He noted that the claims for economic stability are not new, such claims are repeated by every government to knock IMF door for avoiding bankruptcy within a year.

The business leader noted that improving the economy requires reforms in the power and energy sectors, improving taxation and refund mechanism, reducing government expenses and tackle bleeding state-run enterprises wasting trillions of rupees per annum.

How can the economy improve when nothing has been done to reform any sector of the economy, he questioned.

He said that some improvement in the economic activity is due to undue relief to the industrial sectors on the cost of masses which is being hyped as a great success.

Those who are beating drums on the so-called economic turnaround should also inform nations as to why the most important agriculture sector is being ignored resulting in a shortfall of wheat, sugar, cotton and other commodities, he said.