Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed eight specialized working groups to formulate policy blueprints aimed at Pakistan’s economic revival, with a focus on export-led growth, tax reforms, and reducing energy costs. This move comes in the wake of the government’s efforts to address fiscal challenges while maintaining the targets set under its agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to a news report by Business Recorder.
Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani revealed that the groups will be headed by private-sector leaders and will cover a range of areas, including income tax, customs tariffs, energy, railways, ports, agriculture, and industrial development.
The groups will submit their recommendations by November 15, which will then be presented to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Kayani emphasized that the working groups will ensure that the country’s economic growth remains within the confines of the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) agreed upon with the IMF.
He highlighted that the government remains focused on addressing the structural issues causing persistent fiscal imbalances while working towards sustainable growth.
“The government is committed to export-led growth, which is key to stabilizing the economy and breaking free from the cycle of boom and bust,” Kayani said, adding that the ultimate goal is to reduce reliance on repeated IMF programs.
The finance minister also touched on improvements made over the past 1.5 years, noting a 26% increase in tax collection and the achievement of a primary balance target. The country has also seen a reduction in inflation from 23% to 4.5%, which helped stabilize the foreign exchange reserves and support the positive current account surplus.
