ISLAMABAD,FEB 19 (DNA):Business leader and former president of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt, said on Wednesday that the best approach to reducing poverty in Pakistan is commerce with India.
In the case of trade with India, the public will get affordable food items while industries will access cheap raw materials, he said.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said in a statement issued here today that India should stop destabilizing Pakistan and end the cold war, which will help both neighbors earn billions of dollars annually.
He added that if trade with India opens, the process of importing agricultural products from distant countries will end, which will not only save billions of dollars but also stabilize foreign exchange reserves.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that the people should not be deprived of this relief for the sake of politics, while India should stop conspiring to destabilize Pakistan.
The business leader stated that the unnecessary political conflicts in this region are causing billions of people to suffer, thereby impeding the development process.
India was unaffected by Pakistan’s trade closure, but the people of Pakistan suffered greatly. Profiteers benefited the most from this closure, as they continued to fill their coffers through artificial shortages of important items.
He said that Pakistan could provide relief to the people by importing food items from India without bargaining on its principled stand.
Shahid Rashid Butt said that the two countries have not been able to gain anything due to tensions and border clashes.
The World Bank has reported that the trade volume between Pakistan and India is only two billion dollars, but with better relations, it could reach 37 billion dollars.
Shahid Rashid Butt said that Pakistan can benefit from trade with India in many sectors, including banking, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and others.
In the case of better relations, Pakistan can also benefit in transit trade. Pakistan can earn billions of dollars by giving India access to Afghanistan and Central Asian states.
Trade with India will be a blow to the profiteers and hoarders; therefore, they are opposing it. Similarly, some privileged industrial sectors are also not in favor of trade with India so that they can continue their plunder.
He stated that policymakers should remember that, despite the tension, India and Bangladesh have achieved remarkable progress, while Pakistan persists in its plight.
:Business leader and former president of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Dr. Shahid Rasheed){kind=link}