PM Gilani seeks joint action plan to tackle economic challenges

PM Gilani seeks joint action plan to tackle economic challenges

ISLAMABAD: The economic managers of the government painted a gloomy picture of the state of economy while sketching it as ìtight rope walkingî and warned that if harsh economic measures were not taken to put the fiscal discipline on the right track, then it would fall down just like a house of cards.

 

The picture of the countryís state of economy was presented to Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in a meeting at the Prime Minister’s House in which the mid-term economic situation was reviewed.

According to sources, during the meeting, the economic team, led by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, briefed the participants on the state of national economy and the economic challenges being faced by the country in wake of the devastating floods, the war against terrorism, national security needs and global recession.

 

The sources said the finance minister told the meeting if the subsidies continued, then the economic conditions would worsen and the fiscal deficit may reach 7.5 per cent to 8 per cent of the GDP.

Sources said all the economic indicators were in the negative except exports and remittances. The impact of freezing of petroleum prices at the previous level was also discussed in the meeting.

 

Sensing the grave economic conditions of the country, the prime minister directed the economic team to share the economic challenges with all the political leadership of parliament to seek their proposals for resolving the financial difficulties of the country. “The objective behind the reconciliatory process and consultation with the political leadership is to develop a consensus and take decisions in the larger national interest,” said the prime minister.

 

He said since the budget was passed unanimously by parliament, the financial challenges of the country also needed to be shared to find a solution through collective wisdom.

The prime minister directed that the five-member committee formed for dialogue with all the parliamentary parties should immediately contact the leadership of the parties to ascertain their availability for consultation on national economic challenges.

The secretary finance, in his presentation, apprised the participants of the meeting about the budgetary position and probabilities at the close of the financial year. He also briefed the meeting about the impact of floods, the war against terror, energy shortage and the international price hike on the economy in general and the budget in particular.