Dar calls for Charter of Economy to steer country out of economic challenges

Islamabad:  Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday stressed the need for political parties to sign a Charter of Economy to steer the country out of economic challenges.

He pointed out that the quagmire this time is bigger than the one witnessed back in 1998-99.

The Finance Minister said the decline in the economy has been stopped, but now we have to take the economy towards a positive trajectory.

As regards the reconstruction and rehabilitation of flood affected areas, the Finance Minister said the floods in 2022 inflicted a massive loss of thirty billion dollars on the national economy.

He said about 16.3 billion dollars are required for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of physical infrastructure in the flood-affected areas.

The Minister said a meeting was held with the senior leaders of PPP on Friday wherein a comprehensive roadmap has largely been prepared for the reconstruction phase. He said another meeting will be held today to give final touches to this roadmap.

The Finance Minister recalled that during the rescue and relief phase, the federal government disbursed twenty five thousand rupees each amongst the flood affected families.

The House also continued discussion on the budget for the year 2023-24.

Shahnaz Salim said the government has presented a balanced budget in the face of difficult economic situation. She said reduction in the prices of petroleum products has provided relief to the people.

Nafeesa Shah said political stability is a must to ensure economic stability in the country. She emphasized for the economy of charter to steer the country in the right direction. 

As regards the budget, she said it envisages incentives for the SMEs and the IT sector while a raise in salaries has been given to the employees.

Participating in the discussion, Asiya Azeem emphasized for enhancing the budgetary allocations for the education sector, saying it is important to take the country forward on the path of development.

Muhammad Hashim Notezai said development schemes of Balochistan province have been ignored in the budget. He said the ongoing schemes in the province must be completed on fast track basis.

Waheed Alam appreciated the increase in the pension of EOBI and the minimum wage to thirty two thousand rupees.

Qadir Khan Mandokheil said special steps should be taken to meet electricity requirements and save the people from load shedding in this hot weather of summer.

Begum Tahira Bukhari said providing relief to the masses is priority of the government. She said federal employees hailed the increase made in their salaries by the government.

Afzal Khan Dhandla said loans should be provided to the farmers on low interest rates. He said the cost of agricultural inputs should also be reduced to enhance the productivity of this sector.

Samina Matloob appreciated the increase in the budget of health sector. She said greater emphasis should also be given on raising awareness about different diseases.

Earlier, at the outset, the House offered fateha for the departed souls of Pakistani migrants died in a boat incident near the coast of Greece as well as those who died in other accidents in the country.

The house has now been adjourned to meet tomorrow at 4:00 pm.