Hamstrung by political instability.

Byline: Jawaid Bokhari

Deeply concerned about the continuing hike in taxes and energy prices, trade bodies are pressing hard the country's policymakers to review the revenue-triggered policies that stifle economic activities, impair business confidence and discourage investment, growth and employment.

Ministries are working in silos chasing revenue for short-term targets while sacrificing the health of business and the economy in the long term, the Pakistan Business Council (PBC), a leading industry advocacy body, said in reaction to the Power Division's decision on Jan 13 to revise upwards the quarterly electricity tariff and fuel adjustment charges with unexpected policy deviations.

Worried about the government's knee-jerk policy U-turns, especially with retrospective effect, the PBC said they did not bode well for the economy's competitiveness and investor confidence.

The industry has been hit by an increase of 35 per cent in the average electrify tariff over the last 18 months. 'Why should exporters be encumbered by legacy, inefficiency and idle capacity costs of our poorly managed energy complex?' asks the PBC. It has warned that yet another knee-jerk U-turn in government policies could discourage investment in capacity and capability.

Which domestic constituency does the self-declared anti-elitist PTI represent and work for?

It may be pointed out here that the government has failed to restructure energy companies or privatise them over the past one and a half years.

Observing that the outlook for inflation has remained broadly unchanged, with risks that included the potential increase in utility prices, the State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided on Jan 28 to keep its policy rate unchanged at 13.25pc.

The committee overlooked the fact that private-sector borrowings have plunged owing to a high interest rate. With exports moving at a tardy pace, attracting dollar investments in government securities has apparently become a priority to keep foreign exchange reserves at a comfortable level and the rupee stable.

Despite a drastic cut in imports financed substantially by foreign loans, debt-servicing costs have surged on account of both unprecedented dollar borrowings and a huge rupee depreciation, widening the gap between revenues and expenditure for the much-criticised taxpayers to fill.

Sidelined in the reforms agenda, both industry and agriculture have been hit by current stagflation. Industry leads...