Law & Order Situation Major Trading Partners Have Issued Cautionary Advisories

Karachi (PR): President of country’s top most trade & industry body FPCCI, Mr. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, has unequivocally demanded to restore stability, certainty and law & order in the country as the business, commercial, trade, industry and economic activities have come to a standstill. We have nothing to do with politics; and, as matter of policy, FPCCI remains neutral in all political matters; nonetheless, we need .peace & normalcy in the country, he added

Mr. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh has said that he wants to apprise all the concerned quarters that major trading partner countries of Pakistan have issued cautionary and worrisome advisories vis-à-vis travel, trade and other business engagements with Pakistan. It is a nightmare and may have far-reaching negative .implications for Pakistani trade & industry, he added

FPCCI Chief highlighted that overseas Pakistanis are already very much worried for the past many months as, according to latest data, workers remittances have dropped by 29.25percent in April 2023 on year-on-year basis; exports are down by 26.68 percent in April 2023 YoY as well and IFI’s have down-revised Pakistan’s GDP growth projections:(i) World Bank has revised it to a merely 0.4 percent (ii) .IMF to 0.5 percent (iii) Asian Development Bank to 0.6 percent

Mr. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh maintained that tens of billions of rupees worth of losses have already been registered over the past two days in production processes, trade and commercial activities. To add misery to the injury, internet services have been badly affected throughout the country; and, have disrupted .business communications & financial transactions as the result

As per inter-bank, intra-day statistics, PKR has already lost 5 percent value in less than 2 complete banking days; and, as per industry sources, the trend may continue before it can be paused. The much-elusive IMF deal and Staff-Level Agreement (SLA)still seems to be weeks away; if not months, he added

Mr. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh has reiterated his stance that all political parties should sign apolitical, neutral business community-brokered National Economic Agenda & Plan for the next 15 years to ensure continuity of economic policies in the broader national interest; and, in the interest of the people of Pakistan.

Brig Iftikhar Opel, SI (M), Retd.

Secretary General