ISLAMABAD, Feb 27: PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari told a 45-member business delegation on Wednesday that the new government will have to take tough decisions to improve the ailing economy.

“While Mr Zardari received suggestions from the businessmen to prepare new economic policies, he regretted that oil and electricity prices were not increased by the previous PML (Q) government and now the incoming government will be forced to take tough decisions in this behalf,” said former finance minister Syed Naveed Qamar quoting the PPP leader.

However, the PPP leader, according to Mr Qamar, said that certain “safety valve” will be provided to the common man in the shape of some subsidy to deal with the expected increase in oil and electricity prices.

Speaking at a news conference along with the head of the delegation of the businessmen Mr Siraj Qasim Teli, Mr Qamar said that a decision has been taken to shortly finalise a roadmap to improve the economy, which he alleged had been destroyed by the previous government.

The delegation comprised senior members of Aptma, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and different other business organisations.

Those who spoke to the media faced harsh questions for their alleged involvement in stock market crash of 2005 and said that they did not meet Mr Zardari to get any benefit in the new government.

However, Mr Qamar, who is also the former chairman of Privatisation Commission, said that those who were involved in any business scam will be brought to book and that PPP was not there to spare any wrongdoer.

In reply to a question, Mr Teli said that the PPP leader has assured the business delegation that 67 per cent of the country’s economy belonged to Karachi whose problems will be solved on priority.

“The industry of Karachi faces 700MW power shortage daily in the coming summer and this calls for some urgent planning,” he said.

He said that the businessmen were assured by the PPP leader that economic policies would be finalised with the help of business community and that there would be a regular interaction with it aimed at improving the overall economy of the country.

He said that Mr Zardari knew that the new government would be facing a number of challenges on the economic front which demanded careful implementation of the policies.

Mr Teli said that the PPPP co-chairperson has also sought suggestions to improve the business climate of Karachi which had been ruined due to violence and politics in the past.

“We told the PPP leader that confrontation should be avoided at all cost with political opponents as the country can no more afford the politics of violence and disturbance,” he said.

In reply to a question, Mr Qamar said that the PPP co-chairman told the businessmen that he would take all the people concerned into confidence for promoting trade and business activities across the country.

Asked about the problems being faced by the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, they both said that new investment was required in the power sector to get rid of the electricity crisis. They said the KESC alone could not do anything and that major investors would be provided incentives to invest in the sector.

Responding to a question, the former finance minister said that inflation was important issue which needed to be brought down to help the poor man to fight price hike.

Former finance minister of Punjab and a central PPP leader Shah Mehmood Qurashi, who also attended the meeting, later told Dawn that without taking tough and unpopular decisions, the new government would not be in a position to find out the solution of various problems. “We will convince our people about tough decisions to be taken by the incoming government,” he said, accusing former prime minister Shaukat Aziz and his economic team of creating a mess of the economy during the last six years.