PM ‘prefers right decisions’ instead of populism

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said on Sunday the government believed in right decisions instead of resorting to populism and stressed that the measures taken to improve the national economy would bear fruit soon.

In an interview with a private TV channel, Prime Minister Kakar stated that a task force, led by the finance minister, would determine the size of the federal and the provincial set-ups and make efforts to rationalise public expenditure and increase revenues.

“We prefer right decisions for the country instead of resorting to populism,” Kakar told the interviewer. “The government is taking measures to improve the economy, and the signs of [economic] improvement will start appearing soon,” he added.

The prime minister said the caretaker government would try to lay the foundation for the next government. He made it clear that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would announce the date of the next general elections.

The general election should be held before March so that the Senate elections could be held to fill the seats made vacant by retiring senators, he said. About the presidential elections, he said that after the 18th Amendment, the current president could continue till his successor was elected.

About the May 9 incident, he said that the sense of justice and did not revolve around the concept of amnesty. “Let us have an open debate on state institutions, nation-building and strengthening of democracy. However, we cannot reward bad behaviour with amnesty,” he added.

The prime minister highlighted the significance of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), saying that important steps had been taken for economic recovery and agricultural sector. He added that border areas were being closely monitored to prevent smuggling.

On the subject of investment, Kakar stated that the Gulf countries were willing to invest in Pakistan. While expressing his optimism about investment from Saudi Arabia, he said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had also evinced keen interest in the exploration of minerals in Pakistan.

He said that a Pakistani consortium of oil companies and Saudi oil company Aramco were in talks for setting up an oil refinery in Pakistan. He added the Saudi crown prince’s visit was being planned aimed at exploiting economic opportunities in Pakistan.

He agreed that there was a vacuum in information on the issues taken up by the SIFC. He said the government was coming up with a plan to create awareness about tax culture, economic initiatives and strategic issues. “Relaying information would kill rumours on its own,” he remarked.

He stressed that the military leadership and the government had a clear viewpoint that the movement of people and goods on the borders of Iran and Afghanistan should be regulated. To another question, he noted that “our foreign policy is driven by geo-economics and core strategic goals.”

The prime minister said that the caretaker government was keeping a close eye on the expenditure and looking into the problems of the pension funds. He added that efforts were afoot to rationalise the public expenditure and increase revenue.

“We are convinced that there is a need to rationalise expenditure and increase revenue of the government to create a viable state and lessen existential threats due to economic vulnerability,” the prime minister told the interviewer.