Government should make short term and long term strategies for creating jobs to address the emerging challenges of poverty and unemployment. This was said by Mian Shaukat Masud, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a statement. He said thousands of graduates leaving the universities every year were finding it harder to find a suitable employment and added that if this trend were not arrested by absorbing them in jobs; rising unemployment would undermine the economic and social stability of the country. He said governments which fail to provide gainful and secure employment to their people invite political instability, social unrest and economic insecurity and these factors were already visible in Pakistan from the drastic increase in the crime waves.

ICCI President called upon the government to take measures to bring visible improvement in the investment activities both in the private and the public sectors. All business related problems should be addressed on priority and the on-going PSDP schemes, which were directly related to income generation and poverty reduction strategy, should be given preference. He said government should shun the practice of making budgetary cut in PSDP schemes while introduce some new schemes with adequate allocations in the next fiscal year to address rural poverty and create jobs. He said for optimal human and social sector development, government should launch a well-coordinated and well connected economic strategy, aimed at maximum utilization of the available resources.

Giving some suggestions, Mian Shaukat Masud said government should increase allocations on the improvement of infrastructure projects, focusing on the modernization of transport and communication system, hydro electricity, dams and reservoirs, engineering and high tech human resource development, and agriculture. He said a good transport and communication system will highly facilitate rapid industrialization, modernization of agriculture and promote small entrepreneurs in the country to multiply national income. He said government should also concentrate on the educational promotion activity in general and highly skilled and scientific education in particular. The private sector should also be encouraged to promote mass education programs as a thriving human sector is the first prerequisite for rapid socio-economic development.