Pakistan and Saudi Arabia – Express Urdu

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is going to visit Pakistan. Earlier, a 50-member delegation of 30 leading investment companies of Saudi Arabia has visited Pakistan.

This series of visits continues. First, the Prime Minister of Pakistan visited Saudi Arabia, after which a Saudi delegation made a return visit. The Army Chief has already visited Saudi Arabia in connection with Saudi investment in Pakistan.

The positive results of all these visits are going to be revealed in the form of the visit of the Saudi Crown Prince. Pakistan is currently facing the worst economic situation, so it has become necessary for Pakistan to get the help of a tried and true friend like Saudi Arabia.

During the visit of the Saudi Crown Prince, 5 billion dollar contracts will be signed. These contracts will be a precursor to more multi-billion dollar contracts. The dinner given by the Prime Minister was attended by Federal Ministers, Army Chief and other business personalities who are part of Investment Facilitation Council in Pakistan.

On this occasion, the Assistant Minister of Saudi Arabia said in his speech that Pakistan is a strategic friend and partner of Saudi Arabia. Saudi capitalists are taking keen interest in investing in Pakistan in the private sector. We want to see Pakistan economically strong.

All these things are encouraging and heartening for the people of Pakistan who are currently suffering from such a terrible inflation which has no precedent in the entire history of Pakistan. Extremely expensive electricity, gas and petrol have closed thousands of factories in Pakistan and made millions of workers unemployed. The stoves of their houses have become cold. The law and order situation is worse in big cities, especially Karachi and Lahore.

They have become involved in serious crimes like theft and robbery to feed themselves and their families. Electricity has become so expensive that even running a fan is not affordable for a common man. Now the middle class, will the upper middle class also think a hundred times while running AC.

The price of chicken has been halved, but despite this, there are very few buyers, according to the shopkeepers, the purchasing power of the people has responded. They pay electricity bills, pay children’s fees or feed themselves and their children. According to the World Bank, increasing transport costs due to expensive petrol have forced many parents to pick up their children from school. Estimate the expensive electricity from the fact that every week the good news is being given to the people by increasing the electricity rates.

Electricity in the region is the most expensive in Pakistan, due to this expensive electricity, Pakistani exports are continuously decreasing because the products produced by this expensive electricity are not able to compete with India, China, Bangladesh in the international market. The latest economic situation is that at 24% interest rate of banks, no investors are willing to start new industries, but in the current situation, private sector loans of banks have decreased by 80%, due to which economic growth has been affected. Is .

We are facing a budget deficit of 8500 billion rupees due to government borrowing at high interest rates. The reason for which is the State Bank’s discount rate. If this rate is reduced, the budget deficit can be reduced by 2500 billion. Pakistan’s revolving credit in the energy sector has reached 5500 billion rupees.

The state of the tax system is that agriculture, which has a share of 20% in the economy, hardly pays 1.5% tax. While traders have even less, barely 1 percent. The highest tax burden is on the industrial sector. which pays 65%.

The tax rate of Pakistan’s GDP is 9%, which has to be increased to 18% like other countries in the region. We will not get the new IMF program so easily. For this, the government will have to increase the prices of electricity and gas. Imposition of tax on pension and reduction in pension payment period are also included. This will happen only if we bring major reforms in our corrupt tax system.