RAWALPINDI: Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) on Sunday asked the government to take steps to further curtail unnecessary imports.
The gap between imports and exports is alarming, which is a threat to import bill and foreign exchange reserves, it said.
He said that government should take more steps to control imports and boost exports otherwise country will face very serious repercussion, said Patron ICST Shahid Rasheed Butt.
Presently the government lacks resources to finance development work or social sector which are essential for growth, he added.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that the government will need $9.3 billion for debt servicing during the current fiscal which has become a challenge.
Moreover, the economic managers have put the figure of borrowing at $12 billion otherwise country will default on its obligations, therefore, steps are needed to discourage unnecessary imports.
He said that IMF has put the debt servicing requirements for our country at $19 billion by 2023 for which we should start preparing immediately.
The government has announced packages for exporters but the exports continue to fall because the reservation of the external sector was not addressed, he added.
The business leader said that our economic problems will never be resolved if we continue to look toward IMF and other lending agencies.
The countries that have made massive economic progress in the last 30 years have not done so with the IMF’s help, therefore, Pakistan needs to sort out its own economic disorder.