[ad_1]
Life came back to normal on Saturday morning after crowds raged in the streets of big cities, blocked highways and disrupted shops across Pakistan for three days, pulled out following a rush. " agreement "between the Government and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).
But the latest disruptions, which have severely interrupted the domestic supply chain, production and export shipments, have left many questions: is this country destroyed by long years of instability? political, violent outbreaks and terrorism, which encourages them to stay long-term capital investments?
After all, Pakistan is ranked at the bottom of an index that measures 194 economies on the basis of the probability of a disorderly transfer of governmental power, violent protests, armed conflict, social unrest, tensions terrorism, ethnic, religious or regional conflicts. Only three countries – Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria – have found a place below Pakistan in 2016 in the Global Economy.com index on political stability and the absence of violence.
"Who, in his mind, will make long-term investments in a country at high risk of periodic production losses or production shutdowns?", S inquires Syed Nabeel Hashmi.
"Calls from my foreign buyers started pouring in shortly after protesters took to the streets and blocked roads," Ijaz Khokhar, the biggest exporter of uniforms, told Sennot by telephone. martial arts of the country, in Dawn.
"They [the buyers] were concerned about the length of the roadblocks and the delay in their supplies. Recently, we have seen our foreign customers turn to other countries for their needs to avoid supply disruptions and delays, even if it costs more. "
Industrial and commercial activities were disrupted across the country during the three days of one of the worst waves of violent protests and the closing of major cities of the last cities.
Many factories in Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala and other major cities have been forced to slow down due to workers' inability to get to work and lack of raw materials caused by roadblocks .
Inventories have accumulated in factories and dry ports, and trucks carrying backcountry export cargoes to Karachi have been stranded on highways. Daily bets and small and medium-sized companies with limited raw material stocks were the most affected.
"Honda and Suzuki have closed their assembly lines and Indus Motors only performs night work," said Syed Nabeel Hashmi, a leading manufacturer and exporter of auto parts in Lahore. "The auto parts suppliers in Lahore were still operating, but started to face a shortage of raw materials."
Many of the businessmen interviewed by this correspondent supported the right of individuals and groups to hold peaceful demonstrations, but expressed their dissatisfaction with the way the current government and its predecessors treated the crowds who periodically take the country hostage and paralyze public life.
"Public demonstrations are a democratic right of every citizen and group and are part of everyday life elsewhere in the world. But when protesters become violent and start hurting others, damaging property, disrupting economic activities or trying to hold the country hostage to force the government's hand, they lose that right.
"It is at this stage that the state must step in and forcefully enforce its order to protect the lives and property of its peaceful citizens," said a prominent Faisalabad-based exporter who refused to speak out publicly. .
He regretted, however, that Pakistani governments are reacting very reluctantly to "lobbies that use violence and vandalism" as the main tool to put the administration on their knees.
"Whenever violent protests erupt, governments in Pakistan seek to appease crowds to get them out of the street instead of punishing them for damage to life and property of others.
"The current administration was no exception, despite the will of the Prime Minister [last] Wednesday, warning against TLP troublemakers with an iron fist.
"This kind of lukewarm reaction always encourages violent groups to return to the street with more violence, which encourages others to follow the same path and undermines the power of the state."
Syed Nabeel Hashmi, former president of the Pakistan Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories Association, said it was difficult to guess the direct and indirect losses in production and exports .
"But one thing is clear. manufacturing in this country can not prosper under these conditions. Such surges clearly deter local and foreign investors.
"Who, in his mind, will make long-term investments in a country at high risk of production losses or periodic shutdowns? If such events make me nervous to invest in my own country, how can we blame businessmen and foreign companies for not showing interest? "
And who is better aware of this reality, the long-term economic consequences of such disturbances, than Pakistan?
Foreign investors do not want to return home because they are seriously worried about the security of their capital.
and employees.
Here's how a head of a foreign food company explained: "It's not the terrorists, the crowds or the protests that make foreign investors nervous; it is the flaccid response of a state to its inability to cope with such situations that scares them. "
Posted in Dawn, Business and Finance Weekly, November 5, 2018
