(Jan-07-2024)
Former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt, said on Sunday that it is not acceptable to exploit others in developed nations. Still, business without exploitation is unthinkable in Pakistan.
Key sectors and industries are operated without any regulatory oversight in Pakistan, allowing businessmen to rob the masses and promote poverty in the country, he added.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said in a statement issued here today that in developed countries, no business is allowed to exploit the people and if it is done, it is made an example but the majority of businesses in Pakistan are milking the masses.
He said that irresponsible and greedy people, whose only aim is to make money, exploit people in the name of business, as most of the big businesses are in their hands.
The business leaders said that many sectors are operating without a regulator and many regulators have been hijacked by big businesses. For this reason, the wealth and influence of businessmen are continuously increasing while the country’s population is getting poorer.
He observed that weak oversight has allowed businesses to continuously seize the rights of the people, while the compromised regulators of various sectors burden the national treasury.
Many influential business groups have started exploiting the people by putting their favourite officers at the head of the regulatory bodies, which is sad.
He said that presently, there is nobody to regulate FBR. The FBR officers also make decisions in case of dispute between the taxpayer and the tax collector and if the taxpayer does not agree with the decision, they appeal in the appellate forum, which takes years to get its result.
Due to this setup, the expected revenue of trillions of rupees is also stuck due to delay, he said, adding that in many cities of the country, including Islamabad, the bureaucracy increases property and other taxes whenever it wants.
The businessmen dealing in oil, gas and shares frequently get their favourite people appointed to the most important regulatory positions so that no one can stop them from plundering.
Those responsible for the crises of the stock market have never been punished, while consumers of electricity, gas and oil are also being robbed continuously, but the role of the regulator is no more than a silent spectator.
There is nobody to regulate the business of oil and gas production, due to which dozens of companies have fled Pakistan. And we have to import billions of dollars worth of gas. He said that the whole nation has to bear the consequences of lacking a regulator in the agricultural sector.
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