Thaindian News

Islamabad, Dec 23 (IANS) President Asif Ali Zardari Thursday stressed the need for efforts to improve economic conditions in the country.

Zardari also spoke of the need to address the challenges of gas and power shortage in the country while talking to Federal Minister for Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

President Zardari said the improvements in economic indicators were encouraging, however, efforts needed to continue to keep up the pace and momentum of economic turn-around.

He said the prevailing international economic situation was not very encouraging and called for efforts to further stabilize the national economy to fight economic challenges.

The annual report of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has highlighted the country’s disappointing economic situation.

The report points out that the major factors that have contributed to “this grim state of affairs include the collapse of fixed investment, acute energy shortages, urban violence and lawlessness, poor physical infrastructure and institutional fragility”.

The central bank’s report says that the GDP growth of Pakistan is likely to settle in the range of 3-4 percent by the end of fiscal 2011-12.

It said that the unimpressive rate of growth is understandable, given the crises in the country owing to natural catastrophes like repeated floods, bad law and order situation, terrorism and rampant corruption.

Pakistan’s economic problems are compounded by the fact that it has come into direct confrontation with the Pakistani Taliban, causing it not just direct financial setbacks in the form of destroyed infrastructure, facilities, or loss of productive civilian life, but also from the atmosphere of fear that has resulted in flight of capital, conspicuous absence of foreign and domestic investment and businesses transferring to other countries, an editorial in the Daily Times had said.