HYDERABAD: Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan’s emir Senator Sirajul Haq has said that people had voted for Imran Khan 14 months ago with great hopes and sincerity but unfortunately nothing has changed in the new Pakistan and masses continue to face the same grim conditions that were prevalent in PPP and PML-N regimes.

Haq said at different programmes in the city here on Friday that economic indicators were quite dangerous but the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government was harping on the same tune of “success in exports sector”.

He said that no country could make real progress on the crutches of International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Pakistan would develop only after the country rid itself of interest and loan-based economy and focused on agriculture sector.

He said that Pakistan was facing “dictatorship” today. Those who announced decisions did not often know where the actual decisions were taken, he said, adding that all the people who were part of past governments were now in PTI except Pervez Musharraf.

He said that Hyderabad was the third largest city of Pakistan at the time of independence of the country but now it had slid down to 15th place or even lower.

Destruction in economy, education and infrastructure was quite evident in the city which had created despondency among the people.

He said that traders and business community had always played significant role in the progress of a country and most of the companions were leading businessmen in the State of Madina who played a dominant role in the achievements of the nascent state.

He praised traders for two days of successful strike which had brought what he called incompetent and arrogant government to its knees. The Pakistan ideology was never implemented over the 72 years of its existence, interest-based financial system was ruling the roost and an outdated education system was still in existence.

Mr Haq said that political system too had not been reformed over the decades with the result that every big swindler was considered a big politician in the prevalent system. Islamic system was bracketed with maulvis and was believed to be limited to a few punishments for adulterer, murderer and thief which ensured protection to life and property, he said.

He said that corruption, unemployment, poverty and interest-based system were necessary offshoots of IMF and World Bank loans while an Islamic state was like a mother who supported the weak and ensured their progress.

As finance minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa he had rid the province of loans of WB and IMF with the help of his expertise in financial management for he was a student of commerce, he said.

He said that people had pinned high hopes in Imran Khan and believed that since he had studied in foreign institutions, had a team of competent men and army too was backing him, he would be able to turn around the economy and governance.

But today the economic growth rate had slowed to less than 3pc which was 5.8pc in last government. Rs3,000 billion were going into debt servicing and entire development portfolio of the federal government involved Rs844bn whereas Rs3,000bn were paid towards loan repayment. In all, loans stood at Rs20,000bn in last government which had doubled to Rs40,000bn under present government, he said.

He said that it was anticipated that loan volume would hover around Rs44,000bn in next three months. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a huge project which was billed as a game changer for the country but ground realities showed everything including raw material and labour were being brought from China for development projects.

Sirajul Haq claimed that industrial production continued to show decline. Weak traders and investors who faced deficit in business were always supported by governments in democratic regimes whereas in Pakistan everything was different.

He said that Karachi’s ports used to handle 25pc of world’s trade before independence in 1947 but today Karachi’s economy was in tatters. JI had won a case during Nawaz Sharif government against interest in Supreme Court but Sharif government managed to get a stay order and the advocate of the past government was now defending PTI in the same case.

He called for implementation of Islamic economic system and said that small traders should be offered interest-free loans and home-based industries should be promoted. Loans should be given to small traders while State Bank of Pakistan extended loans to big industrialists in 70pc of cases, he claimed.

Mr Haq said the reason people evaded tax and revenue collection missed targets was trust deficit between people and government. Traders did not refuse to pay taxes but when Mansoorul Haq owned assets worth Rs300bn in America and an individual owned an entire island abroad, how could traders put trust in government? he asked.

JI naib emir Asadullah Bhutto, JI Sindh emir Mohammad Hussain Mehanti and others party leaders accompanied Mr Haq during his visit of the city.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2019