Pakistan can make fighter jets but not cars: Fawad Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD :  Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry says Pakistan can’t increase exports against imports by just selling peas and potatoes to the world.It must adapt to new technology and produce goods such as better cars and mobiles and also world standard halal food items. “China, Singapore and Malaysia have all progressed by adopting modern technology,” said Chaudhry at a seminar ‘Gateway to Halal Accreditation for International Trade’.“We also must have to adopt modern technology,” he said. “We have created halal food authorities but stamping food packaging alone will not work. Quality must also be improved [for acceptability in international markets],” he said. Earlier, trade body Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Mian Anjum Nisar said that the certification process for halal food certification need to sped up. Otherwise, it will be difficult to trade in the market, he warned. “It is difficult toexport meat unless the standard is improved,” Chaudhry said.The minister said that Pakistan must also work on livestock to claim a significant pie of theinternational halal food market. The international market for halal food is a $1.5 trillionindustry and is expected to exceed the $2.5-trillion mark in four years.He said the health and agriculture sectors could change Pakistan’s fortunes in 10 years.Chaudhry also said the advent of electric vehicles (motorcycles, cars and other automobiles thatrun on battery) will create a risk of unemployment. Roadside mechanics would lose employmentopportunities.He said that these mechanics must be provided with advanced training in repairing electricvehicles. He criticized the local auto industry for its backwardness and said they will not letPakistan’s auto industry cut itself off from the world. They must also make cars on worldstandards, he said.Pakistan’s auto industry is criticized for its backwardness compared to the rest of the world.There are examples of cars such as the 800cc Mehran, which was abandoned decades back bythe rest of the world, and was only recently given up in Pakistan Chaudhry said that industry must give up the idea of improving and developing with thegovernment’s help alone. “The government’s job is not to do business. It can only facilitate theprivate sector,” he said. He further said that Pakistan must make lithium batteries, which areused in making electric vehicles.“Pakistan can make JF-Thunder (fighter aircraft) and Al-Khalid (battle tanks) but we don’tmake cars and we can’t make mobile phones and TVs,” he said, bashing the country’s industry.