Former Pakistani minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said that the prime minister-elect, Nawaz Sharif, should use his leverage and friendship with the Saudi government to help Pakistanis affected by the current changes in labor laws.

Sheikh Rashid, who is currently visiting Kingdom for Umrah, spoke with reporters in Jeddah on Thursday, and said: “Pakistan’s stability depends on increasing its tax revenues and correcting the mismanagement of subsidies.”

The Pakistan government, he said, has to pay a debt of $ 2.2 billion to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by May 30.

“In a country where the annual growth rate is only 2-3 percent and where almost 2 million people are jobless, the large number of overseas Pakistanis returning to the country will only compound the problem,” he said. Sheikh Rashid stated that instead of asking the IMF to haul the country out of the financial crisis, Sharif should look for a different solution.

Speaking about the expatriates’ voting rights, he felt if overseas Pakistanis had participated in the elections, the outcome would have been different.

Sheikh Rashid said that despite the country being a treasure house of natural gas, not a single new well has been dug in the past 15 years. “It is no surprise then that the country has been facing severe cooking gas shortages in recent years,” he said.

He said that he hoped that the Sharif government would create space for other parties. “The nation is expecting that this time round, the people will have access to electricity, gas and the basic necessities of life,” he said.

“There is also a dire need for trains and buses to run on time. The country’s national airline and industries need to undergo a complete overhaul.”

Sheikh Rashid said that there was no connection between the stock exchange, a vital financial arm of the government, and the national income.

According to him, the tax revenues have to be increased and all efforts should be geared toward national stability. He strongly felt that Pakistan’s major issue was its failing economy and, therefore, the top priority for Sharif should be to redress this problem.

“By electing Sharif, the country has shown its trust and confidence in his leadership,” he said.

“Hopefully he will turn the situation around.”

Sheikh Rashid believes that there should be good diplomatic ties with India.

“Sharif is on the right track,” he said. “It is time for everyone to take Pakistan forward and think about its development and stability.”