Govt working on sustainable economic growth: Tarin

Minister says reforms are aimed at providing facilities to the downtrodden and marginalized

ISLAMABAD:

Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin on Saturday stated that the government is working on sustainable economic growth and focusing on empowering the youth.

During an interview with a private news channel, the minister added that reforms had been made in the sectors of housing and agriculture to aid growth.

Read: Pakistan to exit FATF grey list this year: Tarin

Tarin said, “the Kamyab Jawan Program, Health Card Scheme and Ehsaas programme are aimed at providing facilities to the downtrodden and marginalized segments of society”, adding that structural reforms will be good in the long term for the national economy.

However, the government has reached an impasse with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tax amnesty scheme and his Rs246 billion relief package.

The finance ministry said the global lender had agreed to extend talks for another day. The negotiations could not be concluded by its original schedule that ended on Friday, as Islamabad was requesting one month to reconcile matters

A scheduled virtual meeting between Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and the head of the IMF team, Nathan Poter, also could not take place on Friday, indicating that both sides were struggling to even come closer to a position where some understanding at the top level might be achieved. “The 7th review talks will now continue on Monday [March 14],” said Finance Secretary Hamid Yaqoob Sheikh.

He said the finance minister might also meet with the IMF team on Monday. The finance secretary dispelled the impression that these were not review talks. “Both sides are holding the 7th review of the IMF programme.” According to the original schedule agreed between Pakistan and the IMF, the review talks were planned to be held between March 3 and March 11.

However, any further delay would mean that Pakistan would not be able to avail the complete $6 billion package, as the country had to complete three more reviews from now till September.