Planning ministry’s top body reconstituted

The Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives has reconstituted a high-powered advisory committee that will guide the ministry in policy formulation and implementation.

According to a statement, the Federal Planning and Development Minister Professor Ahsan Iqbal will be the chairperson of the 31-member advisory committee.

The members of the committee consist of government officials, parliamentarians, leading economic experts, businessmen and educationists from home and abroad, the communique read.

The committee will work as a strategic think tank on policy issues to promote public and private interface and develop a participatory approach in decision-making.

It will help to generate and build consensus on policies and strategies of the planning commission.

The committee will also provide input and get feedback from non-government stakeholders to improve the policies and performance of the ministry.

Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Secretary Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Senate Standing Committee on Planning Commission Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla, Standing Committee on National Assembly Chairman Khalid Magsi will be part of the group.

Other prominent members include FPCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, OICCI President Arif Habib, LCCI ex-president, Dawood Hercules Corp Chairman Inamur Rehman, Akhuwat Executive Director Dr Amjad Saqib and SMEDA CEO Hashim Raza.

The federal secretaries of various federal ministries and divisions will also be invited to the committee meetings as and when needed, the statement stated.

It further read that the committee will meet once in each quarter to review the progress in development policy formulation and implementation.

It is noted that since the government came into power in April last year, several initiatives have been taken in a bid to bring the country on the path of development, despite limited resources and disaster caused by the recent floods.

Last week, the Champions of Reforms project was launched to involve Pakistani experts at home and abroad to voluntarily contribute to the development process, including in the technical evaluation and pre-approval scrutiny of all the development projects of the Public Sector Development Programmes.

As part of the Turnaround Pakistan plan, the planning ministry will soon unveil a long-term development strategy based on 5 Es, including exports, e-Pakistan, equity, energy, and environment.

The communique informed that the ministry will also soon release the Pakistan Outlook 2035 report, which seeks to set the target for the country in multiple sectors of the economy and identify policy choices for the policymakers to multiply the socio-economic development of the country.

The study will assess long-term challenges in light of the prevailing economic crisis and changing global dynamics.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2023.