Muhammad Shakeel Munir has assumed charge as President, Jamshed Akhtar Sheikh Senior Vice President and Muhammad Faheem Khan as Vice President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the year 2021-22 during a ceremony held at Chamber House. Mian Akram Farid Chairman Founder Group, Khalid Javed, Abdul Rauf Alam, Zubair Ahmed Malik, Tariq Sadiq, Mian Shaukat Masud, Khalid Iqbal Malik, Ejaz Abbasi, Zafar Bakhtawari, Nasir Qureshi, Sheikh Amir Waheed, Ch. Naseer Ahmed and others were present at the occasion.
Speaking at the occasion, Muhammad Shakeel Munir said that the value of rupee is depreciating rapidly as it has tumbled down to over Rs.171 per dollar in market, which has created lot of concerns in the business community and urged that the government should make urgent intervention to arrest the downward slide of rupee as it would further enhance the cost of doing business and increase inflation for the common man. He said that Fitch Ratings has projected PKR.180 per dollar in 2022, which should be a cause of concern for policy makers. He said that the government has also increased the prices of petroleum products making them to reach the highest level in the history of the country. It will further increase production cost, affect exports and bring a new wave of inflation. He stressed that instead of raising the prices of petroleum products, the government should significantly reduce the taxes levied on these products to provide some relief to the business community and the common man.
Shakeel Munir said that the government is reportedly preparing to increase the price of electricity while it has already increased the LPG price. He said that such measures would not only increase the cost of doing business, but would also make life of the common man more difficult as people are already facing great inflation. He emphasized that the government should focus on promoting ease of doing business and reducing the prices of electricity, gas and POL products to create a conducive environment for growth of business activities which would improve the economy and reduce inflation.
Founder Group Chairman Mian Akram Farid congratulated the newly elected President Muhammad Shakeel Munir, Senior Vice President Jamshed Akhtar Sheikh and Vice President Muhammad Faheem Khan on assuming charge of their portfolios and expressed good wishes for them. He hoped that the new team would play an effective role in resolving the key issues of the business community. He said that the Founder Group would always provide the guidance and support to them to discharge their responsibilities smoothly for the welfare of the business community.
Jamshed Akhtar Sheikh, Senior Vice President and Muhammad Faheem Khan, Vice President PCCI said that they would further strengthen the Chamber's liaison with market associations to know about their issues so that they could be taken up with relevant departments for solution. They assured that they would make all possible efforts to deliver up to the expectations of the business community.