Zafar Iqbal Jhagra, Governor, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Monday visited Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and assured the business community that he would fully cooperate resolving the key issues of local trade and industry.
He said Chamber should send a document of issues in writing so that he could take up them with the relevant government departments for redress. He said China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has created plenty of business and investment opportunities in KP and urged that the local investors to take benefit of these opportunities by investing in KP.
Talking about developmental works in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), he said 12 small dams were being constructed apart from many solar power projects to provide electricity to people. He said Pakistan was endowed with plenty of natural resources that were required to be exploited in the best interest of the country.
He said government could not resolve all problems and communities should play more effective role in this regard. He said majority of FATA people were in favor of merging with KP and hoped that this process would be completed soon. He said government should allow tax free incentives for a certain period to local and foreign investors for investing in Industrial Zones under CPEC so that country could attract more investment and create more jobs for youth.
Speaking at the occasion, Khalid Iqbal Malik, President, ICCI said that business community was the backbone of the economy, but was facing multiple problems and stressed that Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Governor KP should take up the highlighted issues with the federal government for redress. He said 90 percent issues of local trade and industry were related to CDA and many meetings were held with civic body high-ups with no tangible positive results. He urged that government should issue instructions to Capital Development Authority (CDA) to resolve business community issues in consultation with ICCI.
He said drastic reforms were needed in the prevailing taxation system to promote tax culture and improve tax revenue. He said that government had announced an export promotion package of Rs.180 billion for textile sector, but only Rs.4 billion were allocated so far due to which the textile industry was facing multiple problems and about 150 textiles units had closed in the country. He said average 30-35 percent working capital of exporters was stuck up in refunds with FBR due to which exports have come down from US$ 25 billion to US$ 20 billion during the last 4 years. He stressed that government should such issues on priority for revival of textile industry and exports.
Khalid Malik, Senior Vice President, ICCI lauded the services of Iqbal Zafar Jhagra for the nation. Tahir Ayub Vice President ICCI said private sector would fully support the positive policies of the government aimed at better economic development of the country. Khalid Javed, Mian Akram Farid, Tariq Sadiq, M. Ejaz Abbasi, Zafar Bakhtawari, Khalid Chaudhry and others were also present at the occasion.
