TOBA TEK SINGH: Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI ) President Atif Munir Sheikh announced on Thursday that all 58 chambers of the country have endorsed FCCI’s proposal to stage a long march or a sit-in immediately after the Ashura in addition to pulling down their shutters which may be for an indefinite period.

In a press conference, he said the ‘Charter of Economy’ was imperative for the economic survival of Pakistan and all political parties must realise the gravity of the situation and sign it in the greater interest of the country.

“The unprecedented appreciation of the dollar is the main cause to destabilise the economy which is directly influenced with the prevailing political uncertainty,” he said and added the value of their capital had recorded a steep decline and their assets had now been reduced to almost nil.

He said the business community would suffer in the current situation by running their factories or shops and hence they had decided to close down their businesses. He said the government was playing the role of a silent spectator while dollar appreciation coupled with heavy taxation, hike in interest rate, tariffs of electricity, gas and petrol further increased their cost of production and they had been forced to close down their businesses to save them from further losses.

He said that in this abysmal situation, the FBR was also harassing the business community by serving them notices. He said it was a pity that an industrial unit of Rs10 million had received a notice of Rs10.25m. He said political parties must play their role to eliminate prevailing uncertainty and if they failed to do so, we would be constrained to boycott them.

He warned that 1.2m workers would be rendered jobless in Faisalabad alone if the industrial wheel came to a halt. He said political parties must sign the charter of the economy to save the dwindling economy.

He criticised banks that were plundering businessmen in the wake of dollar appreciation. He demanded the government must conduct an impartial forensic audit of banks and those found guilty of unfair practices may be punished with heavy penalties or cancellation of their licences.

He said political parties failing to sign the charter may face a boycott from the business community. He reiterated that the business community had no political motives and their effort was only to save the country from a default-like situation.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2022