Akeel Dhedhi appreciates PM Imran for ‘economic turnaround’, suggests privatization of public sector entities on priority basis

KARACHI: Businessman Akeel Kareem Dhedhi has heaped praise on Prime Minister Imran Khan for economic “turnaround” in the country, while suggesting his team to privatise public-sector enterprises on a priority basis.

“The business community needs to support the government on privatisation,” the chairman of the AKD Group said in a 17-minute video shared on his official YouTube channel. “The government should privatise the country’s power sector on a priority basis.”

Dhedhi added, “We all need to make this country stronger and our armed forces are also contributing to this… for the first time we have a prime minister [Imran Khan] who’s working day and night to resolve the issues.”

Speaking of the bearish trend in the stock market, which is now performing better, the Karachi-based business tycoon said conspiracies were hatched against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government to compel it to release funds for the bourse.

“If the government had released funds there would’ve been propaganda that it [government] was favouring its own people,” he said.

Dhedhi cautioned Prime Minister Imran Khan to identify his friends and foes, saying that his “enemies are serving in different institutions on important posts and can do harm to the government, any time”.

“I am requesting some elements working in different government institutions to put aside their vested interests and work for the betterment of the country,” he said.

The businessman requested the law ministry to launch a probe into “illegal” appointments of some government officials, and the “abuse of power” by them. “Black sheep should be sacked from the institutions,” he said. “I believe that those who deliberately caused harm to the equity market must be brought to book.”

Dhedhi recalled that the economy was in critical condition when the PTI came into power and the government was compelled to take tough measures. But, he added, due to the “timely” decisions, the crisis was nearly over.

He congratulated the prime minister and his team for “turning around the country’s foreign policy and putting the economy on the right path”.

“Had Imran Khan not taken the necessary measures, the situation could’ve been much worse,” he said. “He took the measures for the country’s prosperity.”

He blamed PM Imran’s predecessors for today’s problems. “They wasted money on useless projects which increased the country’s debt,” he claimed, adding that “artificial economic boom” was perceived as economic progress.

“Seeking help from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and China was Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wise decision,” he said, adding that International Monetary Fund (IMF) would have imposed harsher conditions for its $6 billion bailout package to Pakistan, had the premier not sought help from friendly countries.