KARACHI, Nov 18: The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and other trade bodies have asked the government to seek Least Developed Country (LDC) status to recover from the economic crisis created by widespread devastation caused by the earthquake.
The tangible and non-tangible assets developed and built over the last five decades had been totally demolished by this natural calamity.
The premier trade body of the country has categorically pointed out that no amount of concessions and market access could serve at this stage to pull the country out of deep economic and social crisis except by getting the LDC status which is one-way benefit.
The KCCI has also suggested that the matter should also be taken up with world donors who are getting assembled under the United Nation’s (UN) umbrella on Saturday in Islamabad for making commitments of funds for the rehabilitation and reconstruction for the earthquake -hit areas of Azad Kashmir and NWFP.
The vice president of the KCCI Muhammad Naqi Bari in a letter addressed to the President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, has said that when it has become an accepted fact the world over that the Oct 8 earthquake was the worst natural disaster in Pakistan’s history, little is left to say about is adverse economic and social impact on the country.
Mr Bari said that since Pakistan was going to unfold the rehabilitation and reconstruction plan for the earthquake-hit areas of Azad Kashmir and NWFP on November 19 at the international donors’ conference at Islamabad, it should also be demanded that the country should be given LDC status for quick and rapid recovery from the adverse impact on the economy.
Similarly, other business leaders have also came up with a similar suggestion of getting LDC status for rapid economic and social sectors recovery in the backdrop of the earthquake.
Manzar Alam, Chairman Advisory Board of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), said there was no other way for the country to come out of the current crisis and no amount of aid and international assistance could pull the country out of this situation.
He said that due to severe devastation caused by earthquake, the country has been pushed back 25 to 30 years back and assets built in the last 50 years and plus have vanished in few seconds.
Consequently, the country has now attained the level of LDC and should be given similar status to get a fair chance to come out of this shock.
The Vice Chairman of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Mushtaq A Vohra, said for long-term benefits of about ten years, Pakistan should demand LDC status as given to 48 least developed countries, including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
He said that due to LDC status, these countries particularly Bangladesh with an export of seven to eight billion dollars was expected to hit the target of $100 billion, covering not only knitted/woven garments, but a wide range of made-ups, including electronics, IT, and all other fields which are labour-intensive.
The Chairman of Towel Manufacturers Association (TMA), Feroz Alam Lari, told Dawn that LDC status will give a long-term and potential benefit of billions of dollars, which will not be a cash, but a facilitation benefit, and this would not be difficult to any nation to give Pakistan this status at this most difficult turn of its history.
If the developed nations give Pakistan the LDC status, it would mean that duties which range between 13 to 18 per cent in western countries on textiles and made-ups, will be waived and our exports of all goods, except arms and ammunition, would be zero-rated, Mr Lari added. The Chairman of Pakistan Readymade Garments and Manufacturers Association (Prgmea), Bilal Mulla, said that even Free Trade Agreement (FTA) or Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) would not be of any help to Pakistan at this stage because all these arrangements and agreements are based on two-way exchange of benefits, while LDC is one-way support from the countries all over the world.
The Chairman of Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA), Javed Bilwani, said that this is the right time for Pakistan to demand these benefits, Other wise our competitors from LDC countries will be far ahead of us by the year 2016, the time period given to these countries for LDC status.
He further said that when Pakistan was expected to achieve the target of $200 billion, in comparison to $100 billion target of Bangladesh, but if proper planning and required status under current circumstances created by earthquake devastation were not attained this task would never be achieved.
