PESHAWAR: As could only be expected, politicians and corporate leaders of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa differ on many things, but share the belief that only improvement in the security situation can kick-start the economy.

“I don't see any major breakthrough in the coming days on the national economic front, but paying more attention to the law and order situation can make a difference because business can only prosper in a peaceful environment,” said Ghulam Sarwar Mohammad, a former president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI).

The missing link in the government's policy-formulation process, he said, was the exclusion of the business community. “There is no sense of urgency to address the issue,” he regretted.

Local Jamaat-e-Islami leader Siraj-ul-Haq, who has formerly been a provincial finance minister, said everything was possible, “but it requires a strong political will”. While acknowledging the need to improve the security situation in the province, he was frank in his assessment that a national consensus was not possible because “this is not among the priorities of the ruling classes”.

Cut in expenditure and recovery of loans written off were his other suggestions for the revival of economy. He also advocated transparency in the taxation system by making it progressive.

Awami National Party's Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel favoured cut in expenditure, privatization of loss-making units, focus on alternative energy resources, widening of the tax base and improving the law and order situation as the major steps needed to bolster the national and provincial economies.

He also suggested improved regional trade with emphasis on India, which, he believed, would curtail the import bill and thus contribute to forex reserves. “If China and Japan, despite having territorial disputes, can trade with each other, why not India and Pakistan,” he questioned.