KARACHI
\nMian Zahid Hussain, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum & All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman National Business Group Pakistan, Chairman Policy Advisory Board FPCCI and Former Provincial Minister Information Technology, stated that May 28, 1998, remains a historic and unforgettable day in Pakistan\u2019s history when the country conducted nuclear tests and permanently established the balance of power in the region.
\nHe added that under the leadership of Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan conducted six nuclear tests in Chagai in response to India, not only neutralizing immediate defense threats but also elevating Pakistan to the status of the first and only nuclear power in the Muslim world.
\nMian Zahid Hussain said that the foundation of Pakistan\u2019s nuclear program was laid by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, and it was later carried forward and brought to completion by successive governments, including those of General Zia-ul-Haq, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Mian Nawaz Sharif, General Pervez Musharraf, and President Asif Ali Zardari.
\nHe noted that this unprecedented achievement is a shining example of the dedication of our scientists, national institutions, and collective national unity, which made Pakistan\u2019s security invincible despite severe international pressure and sanctions.
\nHe further stated that Pakistan\u2019s missile program has also achieved remarkable success, strengthening the country\u2019s strategic defense capabilities. Over the last three decades, Pakistan\u2019s strong defense capacity has protected the country from external aggression and made it clear to the world that there can be no compromise on Pakistan\u2019s sovereignty.
\nMian Zahid Hussain highlighted that after achieving nuclear capability and strengthening its missile program, Pakistan once again demonstrated its military strength last year on May 10 under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
\nHe stated that Pakistan not only successfully defeated the attack of an enemy ten times larger in size but also gave a strong and effective response, while achieving important successes on the diplomatic front as well. He said that Pakistan has always sought to promote peace in the region, global strategic stability, and strong mutual relations with different countries.
\nHe added that major projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have paved the way for Pakistan to emerge as an international trade and transit hub, while continued engagement with global financial institutions and friendly countries has strengthened Pakistan\u2019s diplomatic position even during difficult economic conditions.
\nMian Zahid Hussain further stated that during the recent Iran-America conflict, Pakistan, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, demonstrated exceptional diplomacy for the achievement of sustainable peace in the region, which is being appreciated across the world.
\nHe emphasized that the time has now come to transform Pakistan\u2019s defense strength and diplomatic achievements into complete economic stability, as true national security is impossible without financial self-reliance.
\nReflecting on the economic landscape, Mian Zahid Hussain expressed deep concern that despite being a nuclear power, Pakistan continues to face fiscal imbalances and economic weaknesses.
\nWhile current macroeconomic stabilization efforts have shown some progress\u2014pushing foreign exchange reserves to $22.58 billion, keeping GDP growth around 3.7 percent, and bringing the central bank\u2019s policy rate down from 22 percent to 11.5 percent\u2014the foundation of the economy remains fragile.
\nHe pointed out that due to a revenue collection shortfall of Rs800 billion, the fiscal deficit is feared to reach nearly 5.8 percent of GDP, while the public debt-to-GDP ratio continues to fluctuate between 70 and 80 percent. He added that debt servicing consumes almost two-thirds of the government\u2019s total revenues, leaving negligible fiscal space for development projects.
\nOutlining the way forward, Mian Zahid Hussain urged the government to adopt strict fiscal discipline in the upcoming federal budget, expand the tax net to undocumented sectors, and reduce the burden on existing taxpayers and industries.
\nHe said that the focus of national policy must shift toward structural reforms, digitalization of the economy, improvement of the energy sector, and the creation of a favorable environment for foreign investment.
\nHe concluded that the same spirit, national unity, and strong political will demonstrated on May 28, 1998, and May 10, 2025, must now be directed toward economic revival and national development so that Pakistan\u2019s economic strength can become as invincible as its defense capability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI Mian Zahid Hussain, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum & All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman National Business Group Pakistan, Chairman Policy Advisory Board FPCCI and Former Provincial Minister Information Technology, stated that May 28, 1998, remains a historic and unforgettable day in Pakistan\u2019s history when the country conducted nuclear tests and permanently established the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":63581,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98313"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98330,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98313\/revisions\/98330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}