ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso has said that Pakistan is blessed with huge resources and it is up to us to exploit its potential for the progress and welfare of the people of the country. The Prime Minister made these observations during a presentation given by the Ministry of Finance on the state of economy and the preparation of budget for the next financial year here on Friday.
The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Finance to allocate substantial funds for agriculture, energy, health and education sectors in the next budget and come up with recommendations to broaden the tax base. The Prime Minister also directed the Ministry of Finance to further streamline the procedure for remittances so that overseas Pakistanis can send money back home conveniently. This, he said would also lead to increase in the amount of remittances which is presently estimated to reach 14 billion dollars.
The Prime Minister was told that due to good performance shown by agriculture sector in the past few years, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has remained in the single digit. The Prime Minister laid more emphasis on agriculture sector because it has the potential of addressing the issue of unemployment as well as increasing economic growth rate of the country. The meeting was attended by Dr Shahid Amjad Chaudhry Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance, and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, Planning Division and Prime Minister's Secretariat.-PR