Govt to focus more on HR

Will bring undocumented economy and people to tax net, says PM

ISLAMABAD:

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has expressed the interim government’s resolve to focus more on rationalising expenditures, generating revenue and developing human resources during its short constitutional tenure.

Talking to a delegation of students from Harvard University, the US, the PM said that only about 9% of the population in Pakistan was contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP) through taxes. Therefore, “how to bring the undocumented economy and people to the tax net and how to invest in human resources will be broadly focused during the short period of the caretaker government”.

PM Kakar remarked that Pakistan had been gifted with natural resources and was a country of talented people.

“The government is focusing on producing educated and skilled human resources,” he affirmed, citing a couplet of Allama Iqbal where he hinted at the importance of human resources through individual and collective efforts.

“Pakistani diaspora in the US is a success story,” Kakar said, adding that Americans knew the Pakistanis that were contributing to their society.

Read Pakistan needs ‘decade of political stability’ for economic turnaround: Iqbal

The Harvard University delegation, comprising 38 students from nine different nationalities, is currently on a visit to Pakistan. Responding to a question, the premier said Pakistan had been the biggest victim of climate disaster which was a global issue. “Climate change has become an existential threat.” He remarked that the world viewed the US as a big power but at the same time, it expected the biggest economy to turn itself into a green power.

Appreciating the progress achieved by the American society, he noted that the diversification in the US society was an example for other countries to follow. “Their society is tolerant and what the US has produced in the domains of knowledge and skills is amazing. Other countries ought to learn from it for their own benefit.”

Read more HR development govt’s main goal, says Leghari

Replying to a query, the prime minister elaborated the role played by Pakistan during the former USSR and Afghanistan war and the subsequent events in the region. He stressed that Pakistan had contributed hugely towards global peace and economy.

The PM said that democracy gave strength to parliament and mentioned that three successive democratic governments completed their tenures over the last 15 years.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2023.

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