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| November 9, 2001 | Friday | Shaba’an 22, 1422 |
Maqbool sees influx of foreign investment
MULTAN, Nov 8: Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool was optimistic on Thursdy about positive changes in the economy of the country from the first quarter of the next year.
He was speaking at a meeting of the executive committee of the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry here.
Defending the government policy on Afghanistan, he said it would yield positive results. He anticipated influx of foreign investment in the country by March next year. He also sought private sector’s help for the socio-economic uplift of the country and for improvement in service sector.
The governor alleged that previously development finance institutions advanced loans on political basis which damaged the banking system. “Now all the DFIs and the State Bank are independent to decide their course of action,” he said.
The government would be investing in gas, power and information technology sectors to enhance productivity of the country. Agriculture would be the other focal point, he said.
The governor said that gone were the days when people used to pile up wealth through malpractice, tax and duty evasion as it was the era of competition. He urged the business community to face the challenges of a free market economy.
Khalid Maqbool assured the business community that all the development needs of Multan would be fulfilled. The uplift of this town would be beneficial for the entire region.
He said he had marked Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and Gujranwala as major economic and business centres of the Punjab and would keep a close look on the industrial growth of these areas.
The governor said he would discourage creation of ‘oasises’ as he beleived in equal distribution of resources among various areas of the province.
He assured that he would solve the problems of the business community of Multan on priority basis.
During the question-answer session, he said the government believed in the freedom of expression but no one would be allowed to take law into his hands.
“Every possible step will be taken to ensure the right of security to life and property of the citizens,” he said.
He said imbiguity regarding the new system of