LAHORE - The Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry has urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to stop practices like bank account attachment as such practices are not only creating harassment among the businessmen but also hampering economic activities.

These views were expressed by LCCI President Abdul Basit while talking to the delegations of various markets. He said that early resolution of the issues of business community would promote the idea of public-private partnership that is the only way to surmount economic challenges being faced by the country. The Lahore Chamber would continue its untiring efforts in this regard, he added. They said that that Lahore Chamber aims to promote trade and investment in the country by enacting the policies of the government and securing a business friendly environment in the country.

He informed the visiting delegations that the Lahore Chamber also tries to secure a business-friendly environment through sharing views with the government. The primary objective of LCCI is to protect the interests of the business community while remaining committed to the cause of development of the country.

There are a number of issues that must be tackled on priority and the biggest one is how to keep the momentum of growth in the wake of a less than targeted growth of the agriculture and the manufacturing sectors.

The second one is the widening gap between exports and imports that could be contained by reducing import of luxury items, he added. He said that the cut in the low input cost would make Pakistani products competitive in the international market where Pakistan was losing the international markets to China, India and even Bangladesh.

He stressed the need for developing regional, product specific and target oriented marketing strategy. New markets and new products need to be explored to reduce country's dependence on few commodities and countries. The LCCI is going to establish more than 100 sector specific Standing Committees which would collect private sector feedback, analyse and filter the same through experts.

The meeting also called for the exploration of non-traditional markets to generate much-needed foreign exchange. He said that the economy has become the most modern warfare gadget of the present day world and the only economically strong countries would have a role in coming days. While lauding the role being played by the Lahore Chamber in removing the bottlenecks in the way of promotion of business, they said that a lot has yet to be done for the economic well-being of the country and its people.