Pak businessmen, economists believe Zardari can turn around economy

Even as PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is all set to win the September 6 presidential election, there is a growing feeling among the business and economic circles of Pakistan that Zardari would be successful in turning the economy around because of his sharp business instincts and active participation in mega projects during the last PPP governments.

Islamabad, Sept 3 : Even as PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is all set to win the September 6 presidential election, there is a growing feeling among the business and economic circles of Pakistan that Zardari would be successful in turning the economy around because of his sharp business instincts and active participation in mega projects during the last PPP governments.

People recall that it was Zardari's direct involvement during Benazir Bhutto's second stint of prime ministership which resulted in the massive induction of power generation through the IPPs.

It is also to the credit of the PPP government in the 90s that fiber optic lines were laid down in the entire country and Pakistan became one of the few countries where the telecommunications revolution arrived ahead of others, reported The News.

"The expertise of Zardari in launching projects and cutting deals could actually prove to be an asset for Pakistan, because if he launched some mega projects quickly, generating employment and bringing about foreign investment, serious economic troubles may start to ease," the paper quoted a friend of Zardari as saying in Islamabad.

According to the paper, it is widely known that Zardari is "very sharp in business deals" and during his four years of stay outside Pakistan, when Benazir had sidelined him, he was involved in a lot of business matters and gaining valuable experience of international deals and making friends with the top business entrepreneurs worldwide.

Likewise, the list of companies he owns also shows that he knows how to get investments from where and how to handle money matters. If this vast experience is enlarged and expanded to a scale when he has to make similar deals for Pakistan and with major world investors, Zardari could actually turn out to be an asset for the economy in a major way, added the paper.

His critics, circles in Islamabad say, often raise the issue of accusations against Zardari and his ways of making deals, but when a politician with a lot of money reaches the pinnacle of political power and becomes head of the state, it is unlikely that he would adopt the same style and manner of business that he may have done in the past.

As a leader of the largest political party with offices of the prime minister and shortly of the president, Zardari and all others will have to think in the larger national interest and focus their full attention on reviving the economy. This would only be possible once he gets all contentious political issues out of his way and concentrates on what he can do the best - make deals, this time for Pakistan, added the paper.

ANI