Rupee Devaluation does not help ‘anyone’

Pakistani imports are more than double of the exports, therefore, devaluation of local currency is not advisable as it will hit almost all the sectors and the entire population of the country, a business leader said Thursday.

The country is importing sixty-five percent of the inputs used in the GDP while thirty-five percent of the loans are in the dollar terms, therefore, devaluation could prove disastrous, said Atif Ikram Sheikh former president of the ICCI.

He said that an eroded rupee will make imports costly, it will jack up the cost of all the ongoing projects while it will hurt almost every person living in this country.

Atif Ikram Sheikh said that government should try to avoid another loan from IMF as it will choke the economy which has started performing well.

Authorities should consider reducing the cost of doing business for the export sector, give facilities to all the export industries, improve taxation system, pay all the pending refunds, focus on value addition and ensure immediate payment of refunds after export.

Moreover, production capacity and skill level of the concerned sectors should be improved through intervention which will bring about a change in the situation.

The business leader said that all the imports except for machinery and necessary items should be discouraged through revising taxes and duties, the demand for petrol should be controlled by revising taxes slightly while diesel prices should be kept intact.

He said that remittances should be encouraged through bonus and lucky draws so that more and more expatriates take interest in sending money through legal channels while smuggling of the dollar should be discouraged through strict administrative measures to boost the economy.