ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders on Sunday said the exchange rate erosion has become the order of the day which is hurting the economy and a majority of the population.
The freefall of the economy can be stopped through meaningful reforms aimed at increasing exports and remittances, otherwise, the country will have to borrow more, it said.
The country is borrowing to repay debt and if the economy is not put on track, the volume of loans can surpass the volume of GDP in few years, said Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Shahid Rasheed Butt in a statement.
He said that the trade deficit is at a record high of $35 billion, the current account deficit is at an all-time high of $15 billion while the budget deficit has broken all previous records to touch the mark of two trillion rupees.
Forex reserves are depleting at a fast pace while the requirements for the current year stands at a minimum of $26 billion, which cannot be arranged easily, he added.
He said that there are sixteen countries having loans more than their GDP and Pakistan can join the club within a few years if all the political and other forces continue to ignore the plight of the economy.
Among that sixteen countries some have utilised the borrowed money for the development of their economies, but Pakistan has wasted a major chunk of the borrowed money which has increased the miseries of the masses, he observed.
The business leader said that all political and other forces must unite to turn the economy around, otherwise, the situation will go out of control.
