LAHORE: In light of the country's economic situation, the Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) demands that the incumbent coalition government and opposition leader must reach a consensus on the name of an experienced economist for the position of caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan.

PBF Central Executive Committee opined that country needs economist to cope up the economic challenges in the interim period of the general elections and for that we suggested Dr. Hafiz Ahmed Pasha, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ashfaque Hassan Khan and Shabbar Zaidi are the best contenders for the slot.

Central Vice President, Ahmad Jawad said PBF wanted an economist as caretaker premier to ensure implementation of a badly-needed $3 billion short-term financial package from the International Monetary Fund that the South Asian nation clinched earlier this month, giving its economy a much-awaited respite as it teeters on the brink of default.

“The agreement with the IMF is an economic prescription which requires continuity of the economic policies and necessary actions during the interim setup to keep the loan program on track,” Jawad said, explaining why it would be “practical” for the caretaker prime ministerial candidate to have prior experience running economic policy.

“We need fiscal discipline during the interim setup as the IMF will be releasing one of the tranches of the $3billion loan after the economic review in the caretaker government,” he said.

“The caretaker prime minister should be a consensus candidate for free and fair polls which are badly needed for the economic revival in the country”.

PBF Balochistan Vice Chairperson, Zubaida Jalal welcomed the idea of appointing someone with economic knowhow as caretaker PM but suggested that the candidate be “independent and neutral.”

“If an economist is appointed as the interim prime minister, he or she can ensure to implement IMF conditions like currency exchange rate, monetary policy tightening and energy prices,” she added.

PBF Punjab Chairman, Muhammad Naseer Malik said if an “independent and neutral” economist was appointed with the consensus of all stakeholders, he would have the support to undertake required economic decisions and reforms during his interim government tenure, Malik added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023