Political violence to dent economy, says FPCCI

 

Thursday, June 11, 2009
By our correspondent

KARACHI: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Sultan Ahmed Chawla has expressed deep anxiety over political violence in Karachi, claiming 34 lives of workers belonging to different political parties. Apart from the loss of life, shops, hotels, auto-rickshaws and minibuses were also set on fire by unknown miscreants in different parts of the city, he said.

“The violence will badly dent the economy of the commercial and industrial hub of the country and besides losses to businesses, the federal government will lose billions of rupees in taxes.”

He said the situation was all the more alarming as Karachi contributed 67 per cent in taxes to the national exchequer and accounted for 80 per cent of national exports. The businesses and the economy might go to the verge of collapse due to target killings. He stressed that production capacity of various industries would be badly affected by the situation.

“As such, it will become difficult for the industries to meet export orders on time, which in turn will damage Pakistan’s image in the international market.”

Chawla pointed out Pakistan was facing a sluggish growth and incomes of the middle and lower middle classes, which constituted 60-70 per cent of the population, might decrease significantly, reducing their purchasing power and increasing unemployment.

He said the government was trying its best to expand the tax net in the coming budget, but all these efforts would prove futile due to the prevailing law and order situation in Karachi.

He complained the government was not paying attention to the issue and that was the reason business activity in the city was facing a decline, which was badly affecting the national economy. “There is a serious fall in foreign investment in the city and unemployment rate has touched a record high.”

Other business leaders such as Tariq Sayeed, SM Muneer, Tanvir Sheikh and Iftikhar Malik were also unanimous in their view that target killings and unlawful activities, including incidents of arson, had caused serious miseries to the dwellers of Karachi.

They appealed to the citizens to actively contribute to restoring normalcy and peace in order to avoid further casualties. They urged Karachi-based leaders of all political parties to play their role in the revival of peace while using their influence among their followers.

They appealed to the government to look into the matter as a large number of industrialists and traders were encountering a severe crisis and struggling hard to continue their business. They were being compelled to close down their units, which could lead to more unemployment, poverty and chaos, they added.