Day: November 10, 2021

Speaker National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, has said that Afghanistan is passing through a decisive phase in its history and it is incumbent upon Pakistan, being its neighbor, to support Afghanistan as a peaceful and stable country.

He expressed these views while addressing the “8th Focus Discussion on Pakistan and Afghanistan Economic Activity” organized by the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce (PAJCCI) in Islamabad on Wednesday. He affirmed that strengthening trade relations between the two countries would bring prosperity and enhance economic activities in the region.

The Speaker National Assembly made it clear that Pakistan always desired to build relations with Afghanistan and all other countries in the region and beyond on the basis of economic and trade engagements. He reiterated the importance of the Pak-Afghan trade route which carried a heritage of thousands of years.

He informed the participants that a group was constituted under the chairmanship of National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, Moeed Yousaf, and Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Sadiq Khan. The group, he said, held daily meetings to address shortcomings in the bilateral and transit trade. He maintained that a parliamentary oversight mechanism was adopted to settle bilateral and transit trade issues, following receipt of complaints. Thousands of stuck afghan bound containers were cleared, he underlined.

Asad Qaiser said that representatives of chambers of commerce would be invited in forthcoming Pak-Afghan Friendship Group meetings. He added that a new visa policy was implemented for Afghanistan with facilities for students, patients, and all walks of life.

Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser urged the traders to submit recommendations to the Parliament for promoting trade between the two countries. He said Pakistan and Afghanistan had mutual interests and challenges that required collective and joint efforts.

President PAJCCI Pakistan, Jawed Bilwani, welcomed the Speaker National Assembly and applauded him for his support and facilitation for Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral and transit trade. He observed that the potential of the Pak-Afghan trade was worth billions. He said it could benefit the entire region from South to Central Asia that counted 72% of the world population connected through road.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Finance Division, Government of Pakistan, has rejected a news report, published in a section of the press, titled, “Consumer Confidence Declines in Third Quarter of Current Calendar Year” and declared it as contrary to the facts.

In a clarification issued on Wednesday, the Finance Division referred to a survey conducted by Dun & Bradstreet and Gallup Pakistan and said it was in line with the current macroeconomic situation of Pakistan. As highlighted in “Monthly Economic Update & Outlook Pakistan”, a publication of the Division, the economy is heading in the right direction, as the growth is all set to achieve the 4.8% target; tax collection is above target; exports have picked up; the fiscal deficit in the first quarter is better than the last year; and, above all, the remittances are sustaining.

According to the clarification, the Consumer Confidence Index Survey (Q3 2021) is highlighting the same economic picture as communicated by Finance Division whether it is a quarter-on-quarter or year-on-year comparison.

Below is the factual brief outcome of the survey conducted by Dun & Bradstreet and Gallup Pakistan:

• Is the country heading in the right direction? The survey reported ‘yes’ for the last three months.

• Top personal concerns of public unemployment, inflation, increase in electricity prices, tax burden, and increasing poverty: People voted unemployment, inflation, and increase in electricity concern decreased from last year. But they are concerned over additional tax burden and indifferent to increasing poverty.

• What is the personal financial situation? As per the survey, it has improved.

• Economic situation: People are indifferent to this question as few believe it improves and few believe it gets weaker.

• Job security: The majority feels confident about job security.

• Investment climate: People are more confident in investing than last year.

• Purchasing durables: More people are confident of purchasing durables like cars and houses than last year.

• Purchasing household items: More confident than last year.

• Global Consumer Confidence: It has improved a lot from last year. But there is more room for improvement.

Lastly, the Finance Division claimed that the government efforts to create job opportunities were bearing fruit. It said that the growth was broad-based and witnessing in all segments, i.e., agriculture, exports, industry, and IT services. It added that the government was doing its level best to reduce the trade gap and implement policies to bring price stability.

Source: Pro Pakistani