Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has directed to accelerate work on major development projects of national importance to ensure their completion within stipulated timeframe.
He issued these directives while presiding over a meeting of the National Economic Council in Islamabad today.
The meeting was apprised in detail about the overall economic situation of the country.
The Prime Minister said focus of all development projects should be the welfare of the masses as tax money is the people money.
He directed that development of communication infrastructure, hydropower and reservoirs, agriculture, industry, Information.
Technology, manpower, especially the youth development should be given special importance in the development budget.
The Prime Minister said the National Economic Council is the largest constitutional body comprising the provinces and the federation for economic decision-making in the country.
He said the federal government gives key importance to the consultation of provinces in decision-making regarding development projects.
Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said it is a good omen that a significant success has been achieved in gaining the national development goals in a short span of the caretaker government.
He said despite numerous economic challenges, it is possible to achieve national development only by completing public welfare projects on a priority basis.
In the meeting of National Economic Council, priorities and guiding principles for the Public Sector Development Programme budget for the financial year 2024-25 were presented for approval.
The meeting was apprised that according to the new guiding principles, the amount in the budget will be allocated on priority basis for completion of such national development projects on which 80% of the work has been completed, while only ten percent allocation will be made or new projects of national importance.
The meeting was further informed that instead of inclusion of provincial projects in the Public Sector Development Programme budget, only the development projects of newly merged tribal districts and twenty backward districts will be made as part of the federal development budget.
The Prime Minister directed that criteria set for compiling the list of backward districts should be re-examined and improved so that all backward districts of the country are included in this list.
The Council approved recommendations of the Apex Committee of the Special Investment Facilitation Council and directed that the Prime Minister’s program for Youth Development, especially the Skill Development Program and the Youth Endowment Scholarship for Talented Students, should be continued and funded in the national development budget.
The meeting directed finalizing and submitting the 13th Five-Year Development Plan for approval.
The meeting was also informed about the recommendations made in the context of the report of Public Investment Management Assessment regarding Climate Public Investment Management Assessment reports compiled in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund.
The meeting directed to develop a strategy on modern lines to prevent the harmful impacts of climate change and combat natural disasters.
The National Economic Council also reviewed the development indicators in the current financial year.
The meeting was told that the overall economic growth rate in the first quarter remained 2.1 percent against the target of 3.5 percent annual growth rate in the current financial year.
The meeting was further informed that country’s economy is improving and trade deficit has been declining due to concrete measures taken by the caretaker government.
The meeting lauded the measures taken against the illegal business of foreign currency and anti-smuggling, stabilizing the value of the rupee and increasing remittances from overseas Pakistanis.
The National Economic Council expressed satisfaction over the measures taken to achieve the economic goals and directed to speed up these measures.
The report of the sub-committee of National Economic Council for Sustainable Development Goals was also presented in the meeting.
The Council directed giving full attention to climate finance because Pakistan is included in the list of countries most affected by climate change.
The meeting also directed to conduct a Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey with the cooperation of all the provinces and the federation for the correct scenario of public welfare and economic development in the entire country.
