Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Ishaq Dar has urged that the US should ensure wide-ranging and meaningful assistance to Pakistan to stabilise its economy and create additional opportunities to provide relief to the masses.
The PML-N's leader was talking to a high level US delegation headed by David Lipton-Senior Director International Economics for US National Security Council, Marry Beth Goodman, Senior Adviser to the special envoy for Pakistan for Economic Affairs who called on him here at Punjab House on Thursday. Officials of the US treasury and economic wing of the US embassy in Pakistan were also present during the meeting.
The issues including country's economic situation, issue of current fiscal deficit and the PML-N's chief 10- point national agenda to the government were discussed during the meeting. Senator Dar stressed that the US should enhance wide-ranging and meaningful co-operation between the two countries on a long-term basis. While sharing his view on the necessary economic reforms to alleviate the poverty and bringing economic stability in the country, he urged that the US economic assistance to Pakistan must be directed towards the welfare and well being projects.
He pointed out that the PML-N chief Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has publicly proposed that all the political parties must work out a plan towards self-reliance, which is the ultimate solution to the Pakistan's ailing economy. He termed the 10 points national agenda as a milestone towards achieving economic stability, exterminating corruption, strengthening the institutions and solving the problems of the people.
Ishaq Dar said that the PML-N has suggested the government to turn the state owned entities (SOEs) into financially viable organisations by removing all corrupt and crony elements posted in the institutions including chief executives and replace them with honest and competent professionals through a transparent and merit based selection.
Similarly, he suggested that the management and the work culture in SOEs needed to be changed with redefined and updated goals. He also underlined need for bringing structural changes by improving the performance of public sector enterprises to save the current avoidable large expenditure of over Rs 250 billion. He said that revamping of the SOEs was indispensable for achieving the desired objectives, which could ultimately ensure investment and innovation with enormous opportunities of expansion and improvement in their productivity.