LAHORE   -  The All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) said that the real task of the government is to eliminate parallel economy which is equal to the documented economy of around $315 billion and the policy focus should be more on doubling the size of documented economy to over $1 trillion.

All Pakistan Business Forum Patron In-chief and Pakistan Freedom Movement Chairman Haroon Khawaja said it is not possible through temporary amnesty schemes rather it can be done through reforms in bureaucracy especially in the FBR, replacing it with an independent institution, setting it free from any influence of the government and political victimization, that can effectively enforce tax laws, strictly dealing with smuggling, custom duty evasion and black money with zero tolerance. He said this during an interaction session on ‘Current economic challenges and its way out & solutions’ with the National Board of APBF. The interaction session was held at the Iftar reception, which was also attended by the APBF Chairman Ibrahim Qureshi, President Syed Maaz Mahmood and general secretary Khurram Niaz.

Haroon Khawaja called for undertaking structural reforms of bureaucracy to make it efficient and responsive to the needs of time, as just good policies have little impact unless the institutions implementing them are effective and efficient.