Exports play an important role in boosting economy of any developing country like Pakistan. But for some years, Pakistan has been victim of extremism, terrorism and militancy and suffered a lot with industrial production declining. Furthermore, exports are not going up because the foreign importers of Pakistani products have developed doubts about our exporters meeting their deadlines due to frequent bomb explosions and suicide bombers attacks. Pakistan had been pushed into the war on terror and is paying very heavy price for that.
For boosting its exports to still higher level every year, Pakistan needs greater market access for its products and preferential treatment from the international community at large particularly in view of its continuing to suffer huge losses on being the front line country in the war on terror.
President Asif Ali Zardari quite rightly emphasized and reiterated his call for preferential treatment and greater market access for Pakistani products when he was speaking as the chief guest at the annual dinner of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) in Islamabad the other day. According to the reports in the newspapers, the President emphatically pointed out that it is time for the international community to think of ways to compensate the countries like Pakistan which have been and are adversely impacted by the war on terror and giving them some allowance for market access. The President mentioned with lot of emphasize that the ongoing war against militancy has inflicted heavy damage to Pakistan’s economy and this country is entitled to preferential treatment and greater market access in view of the very huge sacrifices and sufferings on behalf of the international community in the war on terror.
In all fairness, President Zardari has not asked much from the international community in return of the continued sufferings and sacrifices of the people of Pakistan in the war on terror imposed by us. The national economy has come under great stress and it needs to be boosted through extraordinary measures in the shortest possible time.
Over the last few years, Pakistan has been and is suffering huge losses to its national economy on account of it being the forced into the war on terror. It is now high time, the international community compensates this virtually war torn country through special measures like greater access for its products and preferential treatment as forcefully reiterated by the President. Will the international community respond to this clarion call for boosting exports given by the President of Pakistan?
KHALID I KHAN
Lahore
