PAL-C Meets with Pakistan Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ishaq Dar

Address Economic Outlook of Pakistan, Investment Opportunities and Challenges

From left to right: Dr. Maqsood Chaudhry, Mr. Taha Gaya,

Mr. Ishaq Dar and Dr. Raza Bokhari

WASHINGTON D.C., April 12, 2008 – The Pakistani American Leadership Center (PAL-C) represented by  PAL-C National Directors Mr. Mossadaq Chughtai, Dr. Maqsood Chaudhry, Dr. Raza Bokhari and PAL-C Executive Director Mr. Taha Gaya met with Pakistan Finance and Economic Minister Mr. Ishaq Dar to address the economic outlook of Pakistan, investment opportunities within Pakistan and challenges the nation faces as the new government moves forward.

Mr. Ishaq Dar presented a comprehensive plan to address the current challenges faced by Pakistan’s economy including the issuance of a new $1 billion convertible bond and a renewed focus on manufacturing and agriculture - including government price supports for certain agricultural products and investment in agricultural technology to increase crop yields. He further advocated a system of “progressive taxation” (i.e. one in which people who earn more are taxed more, while people who earn less are taxed less).

Mr. Dar stated that the policy of opening the economy, encouraging foreign direct investment (FDI) and privatization will continue, with the private sector being given a special role in advising the government on economic management issues. The Finance Minister emphasized the need for openness and transparency and promoted the creation of a Federal Bureau of Statistics so that the economists can produce non-politicized reliable statistics that will be useful to both Pakistani economic managers and foreign investors in measuring Pakistan’s economic standing.

Addressing the continuing electricity shortage in Pakistan (around 3,000-4,000 megawatts) Mr. Dar faulted the previous government’s failure to properly assess demand, noting that in the last eight years not a single megawatt of electricity had been added to Pakistan’s capacity. As a solution Mr. Dar noted that the energy sector in Pakistan was extremely profitable and yielded high returns and therefore he encouraged Pakistani-Americans and other foreign investors to take this opportunity to invest in power-generating facilities in Pakistan.

Mr. Dar cited several external factors exacerbating the current challenges faced by Pakistan’s economy including systematic problems in the worldwide financial markets stemming from the credit crunch in the West as well as “external shocks” to Pakistan’s economy including rising oil and wheat prices and the global food crisis.  

However, Mr. Dar also pointed to what he felt was a mismanagement of the economy by the previous government; specifically that it did not continue with the economic reform programs (owing to elections and the constitutional crisis). He also pointed to certain programs being underfunded and under-budgeted.

Despite offering this critique, Mr. Dar wished to state that, “There is no intention of [playing the] blame game” instead focusing on the future where he felt that the coalition of the PPP, PML-N and ANP was strong enough to allow the necessary constitutional, legal and political reforms that were needed by the country to take place, and that these reforms would manifest themselves in a stronger Pakistani economy.

The Pakistani American Leadership Center (PAL-C) is a professional Pakistani-American advocacy organization with an office located on Capitol Hill. It launched the Congressional Pakistan Caucus in May 2004 and works to raise awareness about Pakistani-American interests in Washington policy circles. Our activities include facilitating the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, liaising Pakistani officials and the community with Members of Congress, and mobilizing all Pakistani-Americans at the grassroots level. If you wish to learn more about PAL-C, please visit our website www.pal-c.org or email us at info@pal-c.org.

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