ISLAMABAD: The federal government has unveiled its two-year performance report highlighting its successes on the internal and external fronts.
Cabinet members including Information Minister Shibli Faraz, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Adviser on Finance Hafeez Sheikh, Minister for Industries Hammad Azhar , Minister for Planning Asad Umar, and Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Sania Nishtar presented the two-year performance of the government at a news conference here on Tuesday.
The information minister in his remarks said the governments are answerable before the masses in a democratic setup. He said, “Our aim is to transform Pakistan into a welfare state.” He said it is the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to serve the masses especially those belonging to downtrodden segments of the society. He said the people have rejected the politics of vested interests.
He said, “Our enemy wants to destabilize our economy and create anarchy in the country.” He said his ministry will fully confront this challenge as a united nation without any division. The information minister said the first two years were difficult but now the good days have started.
Sharing the achievements on the external front, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said, “It was because of our effective policy of the last two years that the Kashmir dispute stands internationalized today.” He said the UN Security Council held discussions on the outstanding dispute three times in a year.
He pointed out that Prime Minister Imran Khan in his address to the UN General Assembly and other international forums forcefully raised the dispute. He said, “India wanted to isolate Pakistan at the regional and international levels but we foiled their plots.”
The foreign minister said that intra-Afghan dialogue is about to commence and Pakistan has played its part in it. He said there has been a narrative shift regarding Pakistan over the last two years. He said Pakistan is no longer considered part of the problem but part of solution. He said Pakistan is now being viewed as a partner in peace.
Qureshi said, “We gave the concept of economic diplomacy to enhance our economic footprint. We also revitalized our relations with our longstanding friends.” He said Pakistan’s relationship with China is transforming into a strong economic partnership.
He said the second phase of CPEC involves industrialization in Pakistan. Enhancing agriculture productivity, poverty alleviation and human resource development are other important components of the second phase of the corridor project. Qureshi said that Pakistan has signed a strategic engagement plan with the European Union and “as part of economic diplomacy also, we are also engaged with Africa.” The foreign minister said the Prime Minister’s global debt relief initiative for the developing countries was acknowledged by the world.
Highlighting the problems inherited by the present government on the economic front and the steps taken to overcome them, Adviser on Finance Hafeez Sheikh said that it is a historic performance that the current account deficit was brought down from $20 billion dollars to $3 billion. He said the government returned loans of five thousand billion rupees.
The adviser on finance said the government also curtailed its expenditures. The budgets of the President House and the Prime Minister House were reduced whilst that of the Armed Forces were frozen. He said no borrowing was made from the State Bank of Pakistan during the last fiscal year. No supplementary grants were given during this period.
The adviser said, “We gave a mega package of Rs1,240 billion to cope with the situation arising out of COVID-19.” He said the biggest portion of the package went to the disadvantaged segments of the society and the people rendered jobless by the breakout of coronavirus. He said a payment of Rs250 billion was made to them in the most transparent manner.
The adviser on finance said, “Our economic performance is now being hailed by international organizations including IMF, Moody’s and Fitch.” He said Pakistan Stock Market has been recognized as the best performing market by Bloomberg.
Hafeez Sheikh said no new tax was imposed in the current year budget whilst taxes on import of raw materials were either totally abolished or reduced significantly. The adviser said the government’s economic policy has started bearing fruit. He said the exports witnessed growth of six percent in the month of July including that of cement by sixty-six percent. He said the domestic sale of cement increased by thirty-three percent. Similarly, there has been an increase in the sale of fertilizers and vehicles.
Hafeez Sheikh said the month of July received the record remittances of $2.8 billion. He said the FBR collection remained Rs300 billion in the first month of the current fiscal year. The adviser said the country is being taken forward through a combined effort. He said the people of Pakistan are the priority of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said the economic gains will be further consolidated in the days ahead.
Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar said regardless of the breakout of COVID-19, all the supply chains were kept open to ensure availability of essential commodities to the people. He said timely decisions were taken by the present government for gradual reopening of industries.
The minister said the government has given an incentive package to the construction industry. As a result of this, there is an upsurge in the construction sector. He said this activity will further increase after the monsoon season.
Hammad Azhar said two new policies were given by the government including that of electric vehicle policy and mobile manufacturing policy. He said the manufacturing of two and three wheelers electric vehicles will start this year while Pakistan is also to begin export of smart phones.
Hammad Azhar said difficult decisions have also been taken vis-a-vis state enterprises including Pakistan Steel Mills. The minister for industries said Pakistan has also made significant progress to meet the action plan of FATF.
Minister for Planning Asad Umar said that Pakistan is being ranked among the few countries which has successfully confronted COVID-19. He said the situation in Pakistan is far better when compared with other countries in the region.
He attributed this success to the decisions taken in a timely manner with consensus. He said the government proved it has the competence and the will to address the challenges.
In her remarks Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar gave a detailed briefing on Ehsaas program and its different components. She said the Ehsaas program launched fifteen months ago, is the country’s biggest ever social safety net.
She said the Ehsaas program will be further expanded and its access to the masses will be ensured. Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation said that a program is being launched in the next fifteen days in all districts of Pakistan under which the children of deserving families will be given scholarships.
The writer heads a leading news wire service ‘The Law Today Pakistan’ commonly known as TLTP. He has a special focus on news relating to superior courts adjudication, access to right of information, civil, political, social and economic rights under the approach that existing cyber regime realization ensures procedural fairness in administrative law. He can be reached at editor@tltpnews.com
