Points to Ponder, Mr New Prime Minister

Shazia Mehboob

The political situation of the country has taken a turn with the appointment of PML-N Shehbaz Sharif as the new Prime Minister.

The new PM has pledged to provide economic relief with the stock market stability and improvement in the value of the Pakistani rupee.

Stability in the Pakistani rupee will be a sigh of relief to the hard-pressed masses.

Shehbaz Sharif is a proven good administrator. It is hoped that he will pull the country out of the prevailing economic situation.

Reviving the economy and putting it on the path of sustainable growth should be the top priority for the new government. Economic stability will add resilience to Pakistan moving forward.

Currently, the economy of Pakistan is facing multiple challenges, including unbearable local and foreign debt, rising inflation, the falling value of the rupee, declining foreign exchange reserves, growing fiscal imbalances, and dwindling foreign direct investments.

These challenges require of the new government to immediately engage with the private sector for evolving a comprehensive strategy for the much-needed economic revival. Creating a conducive environment for investment and business growth must be a top priority for the new administration.

The new finance minister after assuming charge should immediately start engaging with the major Chambers of Commerce and industrial sectors in the process of finalising the upcoming budget.

The high tax rate is another challenging issue for the business community and the new government would need to focus on reducing high tax rates and broadening the tax base to improve the tax revenue of the country.

The focus of the budget should be to encourage and facilitate investment activities by reducing the tax burden on the existing taxpayers. Parallel to this should also be to re-motivate and ignite cultural and social industries for building the cultural and social capital of the country.