PESHAWAR: Adviser to the Chief Minister on Finance Muzzammil Aslam on Saturday said the minister for commerce and the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) did not respond to letters sent by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
In a statement, he said the provincial government had written to the commerce minister and the SBP governor, but they did not consider it appropriate to reply.
Aslam said letters had been sent to Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal and the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan.
In the letter to Jam Kamal, he added, important issues related to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s trade with Afghanistan were highlighted.
He said a separate letter was written to the SBP Governor regarding an important matter concerning Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other smaller provinces, relating to the financial inclusion of the population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the need for greater local lending in proportion to the deposits generated in the province.
Aslam said his office had repeatedly contacted the office of the Minister for Commerce to seek a meeting, but no response was received, and that due to the federal ministry’s lack of interest in the country’s export potential, exports were continuously declining.
He further said that the attitude of the SBP Governor towards the smaller provinces was almost negligible and that the Governor rarely maintained contact with provincial governments.
“All these issues will be raised before the prime minister and the minister for finance. Pakistan needs better people in important positions,” he said.
