Pakistan is in the right direction to become a stable economy in the world. During a speech, Ambassador of Italy to Pakistan Stefano Pontecorvo noted that Pakistan has been put on the right track and the country can earn a position among top-20 economies of the world if it successfully documents its informal economy. PTI inherited a failing economy but Prime Minister Imran Khan promised to upgrade it at any cost.
Amazing to find such a policy taking shape in Pakistan.
Thank you @ImranKhanPTI
May the road ahead be easier & positive, with great success.
Pakistan is leading the way with its welfare state – the world can learn from its innovation' | via @telegraph https://t.co/j9lJ93WE6K
— Hanif Qadir (@HanifQadir) September 19, 2019
Columnist Muhammad Ashraf described the state of the economy as: “there are no two opinions about the fact that the PTI government inherited an economy which was almost bankrupt. The country was facing enormous current account deficit, trade deficit and budgetary deficit. It was faced with the prospects of defaulting on the already taken loans.
The situation was a sequel to the unimaginative policies pursued by the successive governments premised on political expediencies rather than the compelling ground realities, narrow tax base, aversion to tax culture and the existence of informal economy which according to credible sources ranged between 35-50% of the GDP and in terms of finances amounted to $85 billion. The rampant corruption was another dominant factor in keeping the economy in a volatile state”.
Read more: Imran Khan: Pakistan will soon emerge as the leading economy in the region
Italian Ambassador was speaking at the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) on Friday where he said that the size of Pakistan’s economy was around $300 billion but 80% of it was undocumented. He pointed out that the country’s GDP may go down due to the measures taken for documentation of the economy, however, in the long term, it would help the country prosper.
Mr. Pontecorvo praised the PTI government for taking the monetary steps. He hoped that Pakistan shall become a hub of economic activity soon.
Recently, a respected British Newspaper praised the incumbent government for its seriousness to upgrade Pakistan’s economy. The Daily Telegraph noted that Pakistan is leading the way with its welfare state policy and the world can learn from its innovation.
Can be but will never ever be!
‘Pakistan can be among top-20 economies’ https://t.co/bPXOT51wLA— B.V.SHENOY (@shenoybv) November 2, 2019
Prime Minister Imran Khan launched an ambitious social safety and poverty alleviation program for the welfare of the general masses earlier this year.
While addressing the launching ceremony earlier in March, PM Imran Khan had said: “It is the first time that such a program is coming to Pakistan. You will remember the day we launched this program – the day [Pakistan] becomes a great country.”
The newspaper in its article said that it was for the first time that public policy in Pakistan has been developed in this way that demonstrates a new level of openness and transparency.
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The author wrote: “Called Ehsaas, which in Urdu literally means ‘empathy’, the new initiative is one of the most comprehensive welfare programs ever undertaken by a national government, with an underlying ambition to create a social safety net for Pakistan that could transform the lives of millions. It is enormously wide-ranging and ambitious.”
Steps Taken by PTI
The government has taken many steps to ensure broad structural reforms in Pakistan in order to make the country an economic power. For example, Naya Pakistan Housing project that intends to provide people with low income to have houses. Similarly, the government also raised more than $15 billion from the friendly countries and the IMF to bring stability to the economy failing which the economy could have surely collapsed.
In a bid to accelerate the process of documenting the economy, PTI government made the Benami Act operational. By making this law operational, all those bank accounts and properties which were kept in the name of others would be seized and then the relevant Tribunal would decide the process of the sale of confiscated bank accounts and properties under the Benami Act.
Read more: No Free Lunch – Economy under PTI government?
The government also took a daring step to document the economy. The amnesty scheme announced by the PTI government had twin purposes i.e. documenting the economy and to welcome the business and trading community to participate in the legal economy.