Shaukat Tareen appointed Pakistan’s Finance Minister

[MenInG]

The portfolio has been taken back from Hammad Azhar. This is the second such major change. On March 29, Hafeez Shaikh was removed from the post.

Tareen was the adviser to PM on finance during the PPP’s tenure.

==

==

In yet another shuffle in the federal cabinet on Friday, Hammad Azhar has been removed from the office of finance minister less than a month after his appointment and replaced by ex-PPP minister Shaukat Fayyaz Ahmed Tarin who was also given the additional portfolio of revenue.

Newly appointed Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry confirmed the news of the cabinet reshuffle to Dawn.

Azhar, who was appointed as finance minister less than a month ago, has now been given the portfolio of energy.

Meanwhile, former energy minister Omar Ayub has been made the minister for economic affairs. Former information minister Shibli Faraz, who was replaced by Fawad Chaudhry a day earlier, has been made the minister for science and technology — the office previously headed by Chaudhry.

Khusro Bakhtiar has been made the minister for industries and production in place of Azhar.

Last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan had removed then finance minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and given the portfolio to Minister for Industries Hammad Azhar as an additional charge.

Faraz had said at the time that though Hammad Azhar was given an additional charge of finance minister, he (Hammad) would continue to serve as finance minister on a long-term basis as the prime minister was quite satisfied and happy with Azhar's performance.

Earlier this month, sources in the government had told Dawn that the government had made an offer to Tarin to join the federal cabinet as special assistant or adviser to the PM, but he linked his joining the federal cabinet with the decision on an accountability reference that he has been facing for nearly a decade.

He had said he would not accept the offer, which he claimed had been made for a second time, unless a case against him filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was disposed of.

DAWN

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Why was the post give to Hammad Azhar at all if he was going to be replaced in weeks?

Hafiz Sheikh since he lost the senate seat had to resign, as per the Supreme Court, a person who is not a member of parliament can not serve more than 6 months. So Tareen will need to get elected in parliament otherwise Pakistan will need another Finance Minister before the end of the year.

 

[mazkhan]

This government alongwith the masters in ghq are seriously trolling the pakistani people and nation .

Just saw the list of ministers reshuffled its basically musical chairs might as well have mr bean lead the country .

 

[moghul]

This government alongwith the masters in ghq are seriously trolling the pakistani people and nation .

Just saw the list of ministers reshuffled its basically musical chairs might as well have mr bean lead the country .

Yes, lets bring back looters , thieves and corrupt mafia , they are more suited to our culture.

 

[King-Misbah]

This government alongwith the masters in ghq are seriously trolling the pakistani people and nation .

Just saw the list of ministers reshuffled its basically musical chairs might as well have mr bean lead the country .

The biggest joke was the chor Isaaq Dar who bought the country to default and is the reason Pakistan is in this economic mess. He should be jailed for life.

 

[Bewal Express]

Let's see if there is any change in policy. Otherwise,they are just figureheads because of the IMF restrictions and conditions. The debt levels are unsustainable thanks to 10 years of AZ and NS partnership. We are still using the credit card to pay off the mortgage.

 

[Savak]

Tareen I believe resigned from the PPP as their finance minister to protest the corruption involved in the rental power projects

 

[Mamoon]

Hammad “current account deficit” Azhar got clean bowled for a golden duck

 

[Mamoon]

You don’t change 4 finance ministers in 3 years if the economy is on the right track.

Shaukat Tareen stated few days back that the PTI government has destroyed the economy.

Imran and his government have no idea how to run the economy. In fact, they have no idea about anything. They are completely clueless and they are still trying to figure out what they are doing.

Imran thought it was a cricket match and he is captaining his team. Even his vocabulary is restricted to cricket lingo.

 

[Mamoon]

Today, Imran stated in Sukkur that the PTI government had lined up a $40 billion investment in an island in Sindh but PPP government got in the way.

Who are the fools who believe this nonsense? Does Imran have any idea how much FDI Pakistan has received since 1947? It is probably less than $40 billion.

 

[PetroDollars]

This move most likly signals a coming togeher of PTI and PPP.

 

[King-Misbah]

You don’t change 4 finance ministers in 3 years if the economy is on the right track.

Shaukat Tareen stated few days back that the PTI government has destroyed the economy.

Imran and his government have no idea how to run the economy. In fact, they have no idea about anything. They are completely clueless and they are still trying to figure out what they are doing.

Imran thought it was a cricket match and he is captaining his team. Even his vocabulary is restricted to cricket lingo.

As I said earlier, your parties PMLN, PPP is the reason that the country is in an economic mess. Instead of blaming the current government, look within and feel humiliated. Chor Isaac Dar and Nawaz Sharif bakrupt the country and now sat in London.

 

[srh]

This is 4th Finance Minister (Asad Umar, Hafeez Sheikh, Hammad Azhar, and now Shaukat Tareen) in PTI's reign of 3 years? Why Imran Khan is coming out like a very unstable Prime Minister? With these actions he is making himself a laughing stock. He was not like that when he was cricket captain.

May be he was like that in cricket too but he had Javed Miandad a very shrewd mind, as his deputy there who would not let Imran Khan run bananas. Imran Khan is missing Javed Mianadad type person in his government.

 

[PetroDollars]

This is 4th Finance Minister (Asad Umar, Hafeez Sheikh, Hammad Azhar, and now Shaukat Tareen) in PTI's reign of 3 years? Why Imran Khan is coming out like a very unstable Prime Minister? With these actions he is making himself a laughing stock. He was not like that when he was cricket captain.

May be he was like that in cricket too but he had Javed Miandad a very shrewd mind, as his deputy there who would not let Imran Khan run bananas. Imran Khan is missing Javed Mianadad type person in his government.

who do you think bajwa is?

 

[uberkoen]

As I said earlier, your parties PMLN, PPP is the reason that the country is in an economic mess. Instead of blaming the current government, look within and feel humiliated. Chor Isaac Dar and Nawaz Sharif bakrupt the country and now sat in London.

lol 3 years in and they’re still using this excuse.

More than half of his cabinet is ex PPP, PML and Musharraf. So far Imran khan has proven to be extremely incompetent. He might as well hand over the power of PPP or PMLN since he is relying on ex members of these parties to run his government.

 

[King-Misbah]

lol 3 years in and they’re still using this excuse.

More than half of his cabinet is ex PPP, PML and Musharraf. So far Imran khan has proven to be extremely incompetent. He might as well hand over the power of PPP or PMLN since he is relying on ex members of these parties to run his government.

You can not even turn around a family whose in deep debt in 3 years. It is important to consider the root cause of this economic mess and we all know who is responsible. It will take atleast decade to turn things around as it took a decade to be in this position and Ofcourse we had a pendamic in the past year or so. The world has financially suffered. You can lol as much as you want but that won't change the facts.

 

[moghul]

Imran needs 10 year to fix the wrongs done for last 50 years, he is not afraid of trying different options, nothing wrong with that.

I'm still not convinced that only thugs, thieves and corrupt mafia can put the economy on right track.

 

[MenInG]

Former Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Shaukat Tarin was sworn in as the country's new finance minister on Saturday during a ceremony held at the President House.

President Dr Arif Alvi administered the oath.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on April 16 appointed the former PPP senator Shaukat Tarin as the finance minister in yet another cabinet reshuffle during the third year of the PTI-led government.

Tarin had also served as the finance minister in former premier Yousaf Raza Gilani's cabinet from 2009 to 2010.

Tarin replaced PTI’s recently appointed finance minister Hammad Azhar, who has now been given the portfolio of energy.

Before Hammad’s short stint, PPP’s ex-financial czar Abdul Hafeez Shaikh served as the finance minister before being unceremoniously sacked last month – that too when the prime minister had claimed the economy was on course to recovery.

In other major changes, the prime minister has swapped the portfolios of science and information ministries between Fawad Chaudhry and Shibli Faraz. Fawad has been appointed the government’s spokesperson for the second time.

Shibli, who served as the information minister before his term as a senator ended in March, has been given the portfolio of the science and technology ministry.

In addition, PM Imran has appointed Khusro Bakhtiar the industries and production minister.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2295262/shaukat-tarin-takes-oath-as-new-finance-minister

 

[Savak]

Apparently IK had been chasing Shaukat Tareen for the last two years and he was his first choice once Asad Umar resigned even before Hafeez Sheikh joined but he kept refusing. He has finally accepted. Hamad Azhar was apparently the interim finance minister and its not like he is being sacked or anything, a permanent choice has now been found.

The reasoning behind these moves apparently is this ie IK is adopting a horses for courses approach. Hafeez Sheikhs job was to narrow the gap bw exports, imports as much as possible, tighten the belt and screws to the point where the CAD is gone.

Now that has been achieved, IK wants to bring on Shaukat Tareen who has been a very vocal exponent of having an export oriented growth model. Let's see what jadu ki chari does Mr Shaukat Tareen have

 

[Slim]

PTI is more like PPP (Imran).

 

[PetroDollars]

one of the biggest news that has gone under the rader, is the decison to sell State Bank to IMF, that to by the man who claimed he would go to war with IMF.

The decison to replace FM nonstop coincides with the state bank sale.

 

[Varun]

Tareen I believe resigned from the PPP as their finance minister to protest the corruption involved in the rental power projects

Most likely he didn't get the cut he felt he deserved, knowing Desi politicians.

The reasoning behind these moves apparently is this ie IK is adopting a horses for courses approach. Hafeez Sheikhs job was to narrow the gap bw exports, imports as much as possible, tighten the belt and screws to the point where the CAD is gone.

Now that has been achieved, IK wants to bring on Shaukat Tareen who has been a very vocal exponent of having an export oriented growth model. Let's see what jadu ki chari does Mr Shaukat Tareen have

This part is just a coping technique.

 

[Bigboii]

This part is just a coping technique.

Most people who read it knew that probably...

But you know some of em had thier hopes on IK for God knows how many years, so better to let it slide just so they can hold on to some thing to make themselves feel good

 

[Bigboii]

one of the biggest news that has gone under the rader, is the decison to sell State Bank to IMF, that to by the man who claimed he would go to war with IMF.

The decison to replace FM nonstop coincides with the state bank sale.

Any links?

 

[Savak]

SBP chairman himself said government has not used state bank to borrow money for past 2 1/2 years and is using banks to raise money.

Tareen is here to renegotiate with the IMF. The electricity price hike is not acceptable and will prove to be counter productive. Finance ministry hard work is mostly covered, Hammad Azhar has just been moved from a comfy sofa to a steel chair with nails (power ministry) which will demand everything he has to offer.

Our economy is very stable at the moment, furthermore the fundamentals are on point so we are able to absorb any untoward unexpected shock. Our import cover is at almost 4 months. Our rupee has stabilized at market value, and will fluctuate up and down in a natural manner to mitigate any unbalance like a rubber band. (for example in case of high imports to a point where current account comes under stress due to increase demand of dollar, rupee will move upward resulting in expensive and lesser imports and vice versa)

Our forward swap liabilities as of now stands around 25% to our overall reserves, which were 90% in 2018. IMF programme is necessary, given our interest and principal maturing debt.

GDP growth will cross 4% next year and 5-6% naturally in FY2023. This year so far it's above expectation. Increase the power tariff by IMF recommendation will kill this growth so to renegotiate is our only option. If Tareen fails to renegotiate he will loose the chair.

 

[Major]

4th Finance Minister

In the past we used to hear the bahana that give Imran time, now what will eb the bahana

 

[Savak]

4th Finance Minister

In the past we used to hear the bahana that give Imran time, now what will eb the bahana

The logic defeats me, if someone is not performing or if someone was bought on the basis of a short term task which he has achieved, he should be allowed to stay in office for the full 5 years? CEO's are let go by boards for not performing or replaced by someone who promises something different.

 

[Major]

The logic defeats me, if someone is not performing or if someone was bought on the basis of a short term task which he has achieved, he should be allowed to stay in office for the full 5 years? CEO's are let go by boards for not performing or replaced by someone who promises something different.

Ministers arn't suppose to be posted for 4 months or for one year.

They are in charge of policies that they make
lol, and this is the first time i am hearing a minister being bought in for a short term task

Arn't you the lost that used to cry that Imran has just came in give him more time, so dont ministers get more time?

Anyways, this is 4th, and if this guy loses the election we migth have a 5th finance minister after some months.

Also the posters who are bashing corrupt parties and what not. This guy used to be a PPP member )

 

[Savak]

Ministers arn't suppose to be posted for 4 months or for one year.

They are in charge of policies that they make
lol, and this is the first time i am hearing a minister being bought in for a short term task

Arn't you the lost that used to cry that Imran has just came in give him more time, so dont ministers get more time?

Anyways, this is 4th, and if this guy loses the election we migth have a 5th finance minister after some months.

Also the posters who are bashing corrupt parties and what not. This guy used to be a PPP member )

The Prime Minister is elected by the people of the country to make their lives better. The ministers are appointed by the prime minister. Hafeez Sheikh was needed in 2019 to implement the IMF belt tightening policies. It is now 2021 and now the country needs to other policies. Shaukat Tareen was approached in 2019 but he refused at the time.

Robert Gates was the defence secretary under George W Bush, Obama asked him to continue in the role when he took office.

Is this what your kind are good at? Posting smilies and making merry when the premier of the country is willing to put aside politics if an individual is the best person for the job and the country? Has this ever happened before under the PPP and PML N?

 

[Bigboii]

"Tareen said based on his 49 years of economic experience, the only solution to the economic problems was to bring the GDP growth to at least 6 to 7 percent."

(At whatever cost necessary) fill in the blanks by me...

Which is fine by me but it can defeat the narrative PTI built around previous gov and how they achieved that growth

Wait and watch...

 

[Couch Cricketer]

This is the first appointment I have real doubts about. I hope this does not mean completely abandoning the fiscal tightening that has been done so far. I agree with his point that we need government development spending to increase growth rate but I don't think we can afford doing it by borrowing more. In developed countries because of higher tax collection any development spending by government results in higher tax collection so most of the borrowed money is collected back in form of tax in a few years not so in Pakistan.

 

[Savak]

"Tareen said based on his 49 years of economic experience, the only solution to the economic problems was to bring the GDP growth to at least 6 to 7 percent."

(At whatever cost necessary) fill in the blanks by me...

Which is fine by me but it can defeat the narrative PTI built around previous gov and how they achieved that growth

Wait and watch...

Lol what do you expect? At some point PTI has to be practical and think about the next election. Our nation only cares about the short term and immediate benefits.

 

[Major]

The Prime Minister is elected by the people of the country to make their lives better. The ministers are appointed by the prime minister. Hafeez Sheikh was needed in 2019 to implement the IMF belt tightening policies. It is now 2021 and now the country needs to other policies. Shaukat Tareen was approached in 2019 but he refused at the time.

Robert Gates was the defence secretary under George W Bush, Obama asked him to continue in the role when he took office.

Is this what your kind are good at? Posting smilies and making merry when the premier of the country is willing to put aside politics if an individual is the best person for the job and the country? Has this ever happened before under the PPP and PML N?

you are wrong.

The ministers are elected by the people aswell. The MNAs are elected, than our MNAS elect our prime minister, we dont elect our prime minister.

again, you dont bring in 4 guys for policies, you keep one sane person as minister to continue the work.

Its not only policies here, there are files that move in the govt, everytime a new minister comes those files stop moving, work gets delayed.

 

[Varun]

Tareen is here to renegotiate with the IMF. The electricity price hike is not acceptable and will prove to be counter productive. Finance ministry hard work is mostly covered, Hammad Azhar has just been moved from a comfy sofa to a steel chair with nails (power ministry) which will demand everything he has to offer.

GDP growth will cross 4% next year and 5-6% naturally in FY2023. This year so far it's above expectation. Increase the power tariff by IMF recommendation will kill this growth so to renegotiate is our only option. If Tareen fails to renegotiate he will loose the chair.

Continue the story. It's fun.

How many months will Tareen last if he is successful? Who is the next FM in line? What is his task once the IMF has been dealt with? And how long will he last?

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Continue the story. It's fun.

How many months will Tareen last if he is successful? Who is the next FM in line? What is his task once the IMF has been dealt with? And how long will he last?

He can only stay for 6 months, unless he is elected to parliament. If he gets elected he will stay till 2023 election. Dont think Imran would go for a 5th Finance Minister.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: The newly appointed Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Monday directed the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) to add 19 new cities to the Decision Support System for Inflation (DSSI) to record and monitor prices of essential commodities in 39 major cities across the country.

Soon after assuming his office as a finance minister, Mr Tarin held an introductory meeting with top officials of the Planning Commission and PBS to evaluate the current techniques of data collection and analysis used by the PBS.

The DSSI was introduced in January to record gap between actual prices of essential food items and rates fixed by the district administrations. Currently, it was recording the gap in 17 cities across the country.

Mr Tarin took three decisions and asked PBS to implement them immediately to have access to record on real time to address the issue of inflation. He directed PBS to increase the number of cities to 36 from the existing 17.

The minister asked PBS to adopt a practice of regularly comparing the difference in wholesale and retail prices of essential food items in different districts across the country. PBS will highlight the difference in prices in different provinces as well. Currently, PBS provides data of comparison at retail level.

He said government will send people to market to check prices randomly to have data base.

An official statement said that the chief statistician gave a detailed briefing to Mr Tarin on evidence-based data collection techniques in compiling figures particularly for CPI and SPI.

The minister appreciated the PBS for technology-based data gathering techniques after doing away with the paper based approach and directed them to follow such methods that could further assist in making the data more objective, targeted and authentic for the purpose of comparison and analysis.

The chief statistician also apprised the minister of the changes they are about to introduce in the system to make it more comprehensive.

The minister said that addressing the root cause of inflation with devising a new hierarchy of administrative control will provide the most needed relief to the masses.

Mr Tarin said that the data if available on real time basis on the PBS dash-board will help in maintaining the strategic reserves of the essential commodities across the country. The meeting of National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) is expected to take place within a week’s time and PBS will share its data analysis report in the upcoming meeting.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2021

 

[Savak]

you are wrong.

The ministers are elected by the people aswell. The MNAs are elected, than our MNAS elect our prime minister, we dont elect our prime minister.

again, you dont bring in 4 guys for policies, you keep one sane person as minister to continue the work.

Its not only policies here, there are files that move in the govt, everytime a new minister comes those files stop moving, work gets delayed.

Voters elect an individual as PM. They do not elect an individual with an idea of which ministry he will get. It is the PM who decides which ministry to assign to whom. The PM has the right to replace people who are not performing or if the needs of the country are different.

 

[Savak]

Continue the story. It's fun.

How many months will Tareen last if he is successful? Who is the next FM in line? What is his task once the IMF has been dealt with? And how long will he last?

IK has always been the ends justify the means kind of guy. If in the end he is successful, who cares how many finance ministers he appointed or fired.

 

[Major]

Voters elect an individual as PM. They do not elect an individual with an idea of which ministry he will get. It is the PM who decides which ministry to assign to whom. The PM has the right to replace people who are not performing or if the needs of the country are different.

voters dont elect PM in Pakistan. You really dont know how elections are held here do you?

Voters elect the MNA, the MNA votes on our behalf for PM in parliament.

Having a right does not mean keep on reshuffling a ministry. Files and cases dont move forward, there would be more delays

 

[OMB]

Pro-Jahangir Tareen lawmakers to meet PM Imran Khan: sources

PTI lawmakers who are backing the party's former secretary-general Jahangir Tareen are likely to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan or the premier's designated committee this week, sources said Monday.

Following the development, Tareen cancelled a Wednesday dinner that he was going to host at his residence, sources said, adding the event was put off after a green signal from the prime minister's office.

The pro-Tareen lawmakers have refused to meet a committee formed by PM Imran Khan, insisting that they want the premier to hear their reservations.

"Imran Khan is our captain, and we will present our grievances only in front of him," the lawmakers said, according to sources.

PTI lawmakers propose quitting assemblies

Two days ago, PTI lawmakers had offered to quit the assemblies in support of party stalwart Jahangir Tareen, during a meeting held at his Lahore residence.

Sources privy to the meeting informed Geo News that more than 30 members of both the national and provincial assemblies attended the huddle and discussed the roadmap ahead for the party, with a majority of them offering to resign.

According to the sources, the offer of resignations was not unanimously agreed upon by all lawmakers as a measure suited for the time being.

The lawmakers were, however, of the opinion that if "injustices" against Tareen continue, then the option of resignations from the assemblies must be exercised.

The sources said that the lawmakers also decided to contact others from the party.

'No involvement in price fixing or sugar mafia'
Two days earlier, PTI leader Tareen said he had nothing to do with the rising price of sugar or the sugar mafia.

Talking to media outside a banking court in Lahore, where Tareen and his son Ali Tareen were granted an extension in interim bail till May 3, Tareen said there is constant talk of the sugar mafia and the price of sugar going up.

"I have nothing to do with the increase in sugar price or the sugar mafia. No one said anything about a sugar case against Jahangir Tareen," he said.

He called for people to read the three FIRs against him, saying there is no mention of sugar in any of them or any allegation.

"All three FIRs did not mention the rise in the price of sugar, but the FIRs picked up things relating to my business from eight to 10 years ago," Tareen said.

Tareen said a fictional story has been fabricated against him. "My documentation is clear and transparent. I pay my income tax every year. Mine and my family's accounts are with the income tax people," he said.

"Ask any businessman," the PTI leader said confidently, explaining that they [businessmen] would say that if Jahangir Tareen is not the most transparent, then who is?

Tareen repeated that an attempt is being made to tarnish his reputation.

He said everyone will find out the truth.

Sugar crisis of 2020 and its investigation report
Last year, PM Imran Khan had tasked the FIA to investigate the sugar crisis throughout the country and find out who benefited from it.

A report by the FIA released last year had claimed that top PTI members were among those who gained from the recent sugar crisis in the country.

Among the people named in the FIA report were Jahangir Tareen and a brother of the then Minister for National Food Security Khusro Bakhtiar.

Tareen was said by the report to have benefited the most from the sugar crisis followed by Bakhtiar's brother.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/346212-pro-jahangir-tareen-lawmakers-to-meet-pm-imran-khan-sources

 

[leg-side-flick]

Increase the power tariff by IMF recommendation will kill this growth so to renegotiate is our only option. If Tareen fails to renegotiate he will loose the chair.

Why does IMF want to increase Power Tariff

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD:
Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Monday underscored the need to build six million metric tons of strategic wheat reserves, as the total public sector stocks depleted to less than three weeks of consumption level.

However, the strategic reserves will have to be built by importing the commodity due to estimated production of slightly over 26 million metric tons of wheat this year, which is already three million tons short of coming year’s total consumption requirements, according to the proceedings of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC).

Tarin chaired his first meeting of the NPMC – a consultative group that did not have any legal mandate to take decisions.

The finance minister also desired to bring improvement in the reporting mechanisms of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), showing his dissatisfaction over its standards.

The meeting was informed that the total wheat stocks across the country were 647,687 metric tons as of last week, which at current consumption levels would last for hardly two-and-a-half weeks. By the end of April, the stocks would further deplete to 384,000 metric tons – the time when harvesting of the new crop will be in full swing.

Punjab’s stock was less than 400,000 metric tons, Sindh about 57,000 metric tons, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over 58,000 metric tons and PASSCO less than 140,000 metric tons, according to the NPMC proceedings. The Balochistan government did not any stock of wheat.

Last year, the wheat production was 26 million metric tons and the country had imported 2.16 million metric tons of the commodity to fulfil the domestic wheat requirements.

The meeting was informed that for the year 2021-22, the wheat consumption is estimated at 29.3 million metric tons and the government will have to import three million metric tons to meet the country’s requirement.

The finance minister observed that in order to ensure price stability and meet the requirement, there was a need to maintain six million metric tons of wheat reserves in the country.

He underscored the importance of maintaining strategic reserves of essential commodities and directed the provincial governments and departments concerned to work out estimates and procure wheat and sugar in a smooth and timely manner, a Ministry of Finance handout stated.

For this season, provincial authorities estimated wheat production at 26 million metric tons, Food and Agriculture Organization 26.4 million metric tons and Suparco27 million metric tons. However, it has been decided that the government will use 26 million metric tons to ensure smooth supplies throughout the year.

The wheat and wheat flour prices have almost doubled since the PTI government came to power in 2018 and allowed the export of the commodity.

The provincial governments and Passco have been tasked with procuring 6.3 million metric tons of wheat from farmers that will pump Rs700 billion into the rural economy.

A finance ministry handout stated that the NPMC reviewed the price trends of essential commodities, especially wheat flour, sugar, edible ghee, chicken, eggs and vegetables, during last week.

Tarin expressed his dissatisfaction over the wheat prices reported by the PBS for Faisalabad and Quetta after the provincial governments contested the PBS claims of prevailing rates in the cities, an official said.

The minister directed the PBS to analyse the price difference and the trends in various markets.

The PBS briefed the finance minister about data collection methodology and updated him on the recent changes incorporated to reflect price variation between wholesale and retail levels across different cities.

Tarin directed the PBS to extend market coverage by including more cities and local areas including Ramazan Sasta/Sahulat Bazaars, the ministry said. The data must represent and reflect prevailing price trends accurately, the finance minister said.

Tarin also directed to review the entire supply chain from farmer to end-consumer in order to minimise the difference between wholesale and retail prices for basic commodities with a view to ensure that the farmer is well paid and the consumer gets maximum relief.

During the meeting, the finance minister sought briefing from the representatives of the provincial governments regarding efficacy of Ramazan Sasta Bazaars which have been set-up to provide maximum relief to the masses during the holy month.

He questioned the long queues outsides the Utility Stores and Sasta Bazaars, saying that it does not bode well for the government.

Tarin urged the respective provincial administrations to chalk out a firm plan for strict monitoring of prices and availability of stock of basic commodities at Ramazan Sasta Bazaars to facilitate the general public in Eid shopping which largely takes place during the last week of Ramazan.

He directed the provincial governments to keep the prices of basic commodities in check during Eid holidays.

He stressed the need to ensure availability of basic commodities at Utility Stores throughout the country and urged the people to avail benefit from Mobile Utility Stores facility amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Express Tribune

 

[MenInG]

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said on Wednesday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had been informed that Pakistan didn't currently have the capacity to raise its tariffs or taxes under the IMF programme, adding that the World Bank and IMF had been sympathetic to the point of view.

Addressing his first press conference in Islamabad after assuming the charge as finance minister, Tarin said: "Pakistan has not yet come out of the IMF programme, we have discussed with them and told them that our revenues were increasing at 92 per cent but the third wave of Covid came and they decreased after that. "

"At this time, we don't have the capacity to increase tariffs or [adopt] incremental taxes, our common man is completely fed up of this inflation," he said, adding that this had a cascading effect and inflation would increase once fuel charges were increased.

He added that this stance was conveyed and both the World Bank and the IMF had been very sympathetic to it. "We have to tell them that we won't come out of the IMF programme but give us some space and we will change the method. Tariff increase is not the only way to raise money."

He said they were concerned that Pakistan's circular debt was increasing and there "should be some brakes" and stability in it. Tareen added that the government would prove that through various measures, but it didn't mean that it would increase tariffs on the common person since Prime Minister Imran Khan was against it.

"We will apologise to them on this and they are sympathetic to us."

Addressing taxation, he said its ambit would be further increased through "innovative methods" and the tax-to-GDP ratio would increase every year by one to two per cent. Tarin added that sudden increases on the orders of the IMF, as had been done in 2019, would "not happen. This is the wrong way of doing it".

Instead, he said, gradual annual increases would be the better way to go and efforts would be made to convince the IMF about it.

"If people think we are trying to come out of the IMF programme, then no we will not. You get a stamp [of approval] from it because of which the world sees you are going towards stability, however, the targets they've given us at this time, we'll tell them that the third wave of Covid-19 has arrived and give us some space at this time."

The finance minister said that when the incumbent government came into power, it faced a lot of challenges, chief being the current account deficit. He said the government had to approach the IMF and the "environment was not the same when I had gone to the IMF in 2008 so the world was with us. Because of the fight on terror, they didn't put the conditions which should have been applied but they asked us what can we do."

He said it had been a "friendly environment" but the environment at the time of the current government was not "friendly" due to the surrounding political situation and and efforts of some countries which made the process difficult.

Tarin said the current IMF programme was difficult and set such conditions which also had a "political cost". "But I think the government, despite those strict conditions, followed it and went towards stability."

The finance minister had also previously said that the IMF would be convinced to relax conditions particularly those related to power tariff hike. Testifying before the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance, Tarin had said the higher power tariff was leading to corruption and affecting economic growth. The conditions agreed to under the IMF programme were very harsh, he had said.

He had claimed that the government would take alternative measures to reduce circular debt instead of tariff increases. Similarly, he had said, the tax net would be expanded instead of increase in taxes to achieve revenue targets.

The finance minister had said that the IMF was being convinced to have a sympathetic view towards Pakistan after it had been hit by the third wave of coronavirus pandemic.

DAWN

 

[PetroDollars]

Why does IMF want to increase Power Tariff

i guess because they want more private power plants that run on expensive oil to enrich there friends and so pak stays away from constructing dams which dont help them.

 

[MenInG]

Confirming Pakistan's economy was currently growing at a rate of 3.94 per cent, Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said on Sunday that the growth rate should not have been made controversial.

"I have appeared with the provisional result of 2020-21 with me, according to which our economy is growing at a rate of 3.94 per cent," he said while addressing a presser in Islamabad today.

"When the government took power in 2018, there was a current account deficit of $20 billion while the fiscal deficit was also very high."

Above all, he added, our dollar [reserves] had ended, and we didn't have the capacity to bridge the current account deficit.

"So, the government had to go to the IMF [International Monetary Fund] and this time, they took a stern stance as compared to 2008 when there was a friendly atmosphere and we were assisted."

"But this time, they did front-loading, increasing the tariffs and interest rate and had the exchange rate devalued," the finance minister stated.

Read Agri sustainability a challenge: Tarin

Due to the situation, Tarin added, the economy went into a tailspin and growth decreased, but stabilisation was necessary.

"The prudent policies of [Prime Minister] Imran Khan saved us, with strategic lockdowns carried out," he noted. "But, our constraints with the IMF were already ongoing," he maintained.

"The government's focus on some targeted areas, including housing, agriculture, industries, especially exports."

"This resulted in stabilisation as well as growth. So, the [growth] of 3.94% should not have been made controversial. It became possible as the result of efforts by the planning division."

This is a figure, he said, that gives us hope that if we proceed in the same trajectory, we may achieve a five per cent growth next year. It could rise to more than six per cent the year next to that, he said.

"We are working on some 12 immediate, short-term and long-term plans, and we will submit a report in this regard to the premier before this month's end."

"The strategy focuses on price stability and inflation, that has increased worldwide and Pakistan is no exception to it."

"We are no longer a food surplus country, but a food deficit country. We will have to import a lot of things."

"This didn't happen because of the incumbent government, but due to the fact that the rulers didn't pay attention to agriculture."

To bring about a stability in prices, the government will need to take administrative measures in the beginning, the finance minister observed. "We will have to deal sternly with those involved in hoarding and profiteering."

"We will increase Pakistan's food supplies and lay the structures comprising warehousing, cold storage and enable farmers to sell their produce themselves."

"We will have to grow the economy as that generates jobs, boosts revenue and the general income."

"We have our focus on uplifting the downtrodden segments of the society and we will introduce economic schemes for them."

"Exports and revenue hold special significance for Pakistan and we have to increase their existing level."

He added that it was also important to improve the banking sector.

"We have to opt for inclusive and sustainable growth, and across the board growth for all!"

"The government will be focusing on addressing fundamental fault lines," Tarin concluded.

 

[MenInG]

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said on Sunday that income tax rates for the salaried class will not be increased in the upcoming budget and vowed to bring legislation to put tax evaders behind bars.

While addressing a virtual press conference, the minister also downplayed the controversy over the provisional economic growth rate of 3.94%, saying that the growth was the result of prudent policies of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He hoped that in the next fiscal year 2021-22 the government can achieve 5% economic growth rate.

The government will end harassment by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) but people, who would not declare their incomes under the self-assessment scheme, will be put behind the bars, said Tarin.

The finance minister said that the tax rates for the salaried class will not be increased and the government will use “innovative methods” to enhance collection in the next fiscal year 2021-22.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked to set the Rs5.963 trillion tax target and the government will set the target close to it without taxing those who are already taxed, he added.

However, nearly Rs6 trillion target will remain unrealistic without additional revenue measures, as the target will be higher by Rs1.3 trillion or 27% over current year’s downward revised tax collection target. The nominal GDP growth will be just 12% and the rest of the gap cannot be bridged without additional taxation.

To a question about how the government will attain over 20% growth rate without levying more taxes equal to 1.2% of the GDP, the minister said that this will be done through innovative ways and bringing retail sector in the tax net.

The revenue collection has to be increased over 20% in the next fiscal year and until the FBR revenues are increased, the government will remain indebted and the budget deficit cannot be reduced, said Tarin. IMF, he added, wanted that the tax exemptions should be withdrawn.

“In line with IMF recommendations, we will seek to change the existing tax rate structure by reducing the number of rates and income tax brackets from eleven to five and decreasing the size of the income slabs,” according to the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies that former finance minister Hafeez Shaikh had sent to the IMF for revival of the programme.

The government will also try to get some leeway from the IMF on further extension in the real estate tax amnesty scheme beyond June but this is not a matter of make or break for Pakistan’s economy, said Tarin.

 

[Bewal Express]

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said on Sunday that income tax rates for the salaried class will not be increased in the upcoming budget and vowed to bring legislation to put tax evaders behind bars.

While addressing a virtual press conference, the minister also downplayed the controversy over the provisional economic growth rate of 3.94%, saying that the growth was the result of prudent policies of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He hoped that in the next fiscal year 2021-22 the government can achieve 5% economic growth rate.

The government will end harassment by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) but people, who would not declare their incomes under the self-assessment scheme, will be put behind the bars, said Tarin.

The finance minister said that the tax rates for the salaried class will not be increased and the government will use “innovative methods” to enhance collection in the next fiscal year 2021-22.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked to set the Rs5.963 trillion tax target and the government will set the target close to it without taxing those who are already taxed, he added.

However, nearly Rs6 trillion target will remain unrealistic without additional revenue measures, as the target will be higher by Rs1.3 trillion or 27% over current year’s downward revised tax collection target. The nominal GDP growth will be just 12% and the rest of the gap cannot be bridged without additional taxation.

To a question about how the government will attain over 20% growth rate without levying more taxes equal to 1.2% of the GDP, the minister said that this will be done through innovative ways and bringing retail sector in the tax net.

The revenue collection has to be increased over 20% in the next fiscal year and until the FBR revenues are increased, the government will remain indebted and the budget deficit cannot be reduced, said Tarin. IMF, he added, wanted that the tax exemptions should be withdrawn.

“In line with IMF recommendations, we will seek to change the existing tax rate structure by reducing the number of rates and income tax brackets from eleven to five and decreasing the size of the income slabs,” according to the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies that former finance minister Hafeez Shaikh had sent to the IMF for revival of the programme.

The government will also try to get some leeway from the IMF on further extension in the real estate tax amnesty scheme beyond June but this is not a matter of make or break for Pakistan’s economy, said Tarin.

If these provisional growth figures are close to being accurate then the opposition will go into tailspin. IA they are and then we need to focus on supply side reforms with a renewed emphasis on FDI to not only bring growth but to create competition to bring prices down. These mafia cartels need to be smashed if PK is to prosper

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has denied reports that Pakistan is leveraging its ties with the US military for putting off some reform measures under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme.

His comments were made in reference to a story by The Financial Times which quoted the finance minister saying that military cooperation with the US over America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan had given Imran Khan’s government “some space” to delay unpopular IMF reforms.

Islamabad is in talks with the IMF to release the next tranche of funding as part of a $6bn loan programme.

Responding to journalists after the unveiling of the Pakistan Economic Survey on Thursday, the minister said, “The reporter interviewed me for an hour to discuss 19 points. Throughout the conversation, US was mentioned only once and she asked me about Pakistan’s relationship with US.”

He further added, “I replied that US has allocated some amount for military training. She asked if US allocated any amount for other things, I replied that it hasn’t and we don’t need money rather we want to enhance trade and business with US. We want investment to come from US to Pakistan in oil and gas and IT sector.”

The minister reiterated that this was the sole conversation related to the US, adding the finance ministry will be issuing a rebuttal on the story.

“That is a completely wrong story and we will issue a rebuttal.”

 

[MenInG]

In its fourth year in power, the government on Friday unveiled another long-term economic roadmap – its second in as many years –which seeks to cancel already approved foreign loans and a two-year ban on fresh foreign borrowings aimed at scaling back the growing debt pile.

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin released the synopsis of ‘the 2021-24 Roadmap for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth’ along with members of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) and federal ministers.

However, the report shared with the media lacked specific targets and end objectives as well as carried a few contradictions that could undermine the seriousness with which this work had been done by the EAC.

On page eight of the report, it is suggested to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio by 1.5% to 2% annually but on page nine one per cent target is given. The year for achieving the short- and medium-term goals is the same – the fiscal year 2021-22. The report did not mention the cost of implementing the highly ambitious plan, which would also require the nod of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

To reduce the foreign debt, the roadmap seeks to “cancel drawdowns on wasteful foreign loans and two-year moratorium on foreign borrowings”.

“The policy of taking loans from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) must end now,” Mohammad Ali Tabba, a leading industrialist and member of the EAC, said.

However, this goal seems contradictory to the government strategy to borrow nearly $20 billion in this fiscal year to remain afloat, including borrowing through highly expensive Naya Pakistan Certificates.

The finance minister-led and owned roadmap also acknowledges that the country was paying very high interest rates on the Naya Pakistan Certificate debt and seeks to “review the interest rates”. The roadmap also seeks a reduction in the policy rate by the central bank and to rationalise the tax expenditures for reducing the domestic debt.

When the PML-N left the government the total public debt was Rs25 trillion that has already jumped to around Rs38 trillion.

It is the second long-term economic roadmap that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government has launched in two years. The first plan was launched by former finance minister Asad Umar days before his removal in April 2019.

“I am not responsible for the performance review of the past plans but Asad Umar had tried to implement that,” Tarin said while responding to a question.

Tarin admitted that the government had only two years left in its five-year term and during this period it could only implement a short-term agenda. He added that the three-year plan reflected the government’s intentions and time would tell whether or not it was implemented successfully.

“The relevant ministries will be answerable to the prime minister every month about the progress being made on achieving these objectives,” Tarin said.

The plan seeks to curtail the public sector development spending by “immediately shelving unviable projects, transfer projects to provinces and limit approval of new projects”. But this goal seems in contradiction to another goal of increasing investment-to-GDP ratio from a very low level of 13.9%.

The investment-to-GDP ratio had to be doubled to 24% for sustainable economic growth, Syed Salim Reza, a member of the EAC and a former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), said.

He added that 55% of the total banking sector credit was taken away by the government while 90% of the remaining credit was taken by big companies, leaving nothing for small businesses.

Answering questions about the plan’s vetting by the IMF and whether the government would still stay in the programme, Tarin said that Pakistan was very much in the IMF programme.

“I’ve had productive discussions with the IMF on Thursday. The talks with the IMF will be held by the end of September and then there will be face-to-face meetings in October in Washington,” Tarin said, adding that the IMF programme would not be called off and it would continue as per plan.

When he was asked how much money was needed to implement the plan, Tarin said that at least 60% to 70% recommendations have already been implemented and their cost was covered in this year’s budget.

The plan is shallow on many counts. For instance, no explicit targets are given to curtail the circular debt. The general statement is made about flattening the capacity payment curve by replacing cross subsidies with targeted subsidies and improving governance without giving specific deadlines.

Tarin said that the government had put in place a comprehensive roadmap focusing on 14 special sectors of the economy to ensure planned, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the country.

The minister said that it was after the year 1972 that such a strategy was being presented by the government under which short-, medium- and long-term plans were being devised by working groups in consultation with the stakeholders, and their implementation would be monitored.

The minister said that from September, performance in these 14 sectors would be monitored and the prime minister would be given briefing about the execution of the plans every month.

He said that the exercise was aimed at accelerating growth rates from 3% to 6% in three years, keeping inflationary expectations subdued, generating employment opportunities, and reducing poverty by strengthening social safety nets.

On the occasion, Prime Minister’s Adviser Razak Dawood said that his main focus was on increasing exports which would help strengthen the country’s economy. He added that the government had set the export target at $38.7 billion for the current fiscal year, of which $31.2 billion export target is fixed for goods.

In three to four years, the target would increase to $40-50 billion from the current less than $26 billion, Tabba said.

Industries Minister Khusro Bakhtiar said that keeping in view the higher large-scale manufacturing (LSM) sector growth, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth which provisionally remained at 3.9% in the previous year could go up to 4.5%, when the final figures would be calculated.

The minister informed the media that new industrial sectors would be introduced that would help raise exports and substitute the imports of the country.

 

[MenInG]

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin announced on Wednesday to take restrictive measures to “cool down” an “over heating” economy, marking the beginning of reversal of expansionary fiscal policies after external sector vulnerabilities exposed sooner than expected.

“It has been decided to introduce a 100% cash margin requirement for imports and impose regulatory duties to curb imports of non-essential items,” Tarin told a press conference – his second in less than 10 days to respond to increasing criticism over higher inflation.

“If [the new] measures are not taken, the economy could grow at more than 5% rate and this is the time to control the growth rate, the finance minister told the reporters, while explaining the reasons behind taking these measures.

“My concern is that the economy may overheat and there could be exchange rate related problems if the GDP growth rate exceeds above 5% annually,” he added, while responding to a question from The Express Tribune.

Before the budget, Tarin had been cautioned about the adverse impact of expansionary fiscal policies but the minister at that time had opined that the economy can sustain over 6% growth rate, finance ministry sources said.

Introduction of cash margins –where the importers are required to deposit cash in dollars in advance—and regulatory duties are considered import restrictive measures that are usually discouraged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The government decided to take these steps after the two-month import bill exceeded $12 billion and the central bank called for urgent measures. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has already increased the discount rate by 0.25% while also signalling a further increase at an appropriate time.

The SBP policy statement also pointed out things that the federal government has to do to minimise threats to external sector stability.

The message in the central bank’s monetary policy statement was that so far the reliance was only on exchange rate too and there was also a need to use monetary policy and fiscal policy tools “to cool down” the economy, said the finance minister.

“The fiscal side acceleration needs to be reduced to lower the heat and we are now closely monitoring the fiscal policy,” Tarin added. He said that fiscal operations were in line with the projections during the current fiscal year but the finance ministry was monitoring the situation.

Doubtful petrol prices comparison

Tarin and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Food Security Jamshed Cheema claimed during the press conference that petrol prices were the cheapest in Pakistan compared to the region. Compared with Rs123 per litre price in Pakistan, “the petrol price in India is 250 rupees per litre and 198 in Bangladesh”, Tarin said.

“The per-litre petrol price in Mumbai is Rs105.92,” an Indian journalist, who is a member of the South Asian Society for Economic Reporters (SASER), said. The SASER is an association for business and economic reporters of South Asia.

“It’s 90 taka per litre in Bangladesh,” said another SASER member journalist from Bangladesh. One litre petrol price is 157 rupees in Sri Lanka , according to a SASER member from Sri Lanka. The Nepalese SASER member said that the petrol was being sold at 129 in local rupee.

In order to avoid growing criticism, the government gave controversial figures by translating regional countries’ petrol prices by applying rupee-dollar parity. The Pakistani rupee closed at Rs168.68 to a dollar on Wednesday, compared with around Rs74 to a dollar Indian price. Even Afghani rupee is far stronger than Pakistani rupee.

The finance minister said that it has also been decided to slash taxes on edible oil to reduce their prices by Rs45 to Rs50 per kg. “The government will offer direct food subsidies to 40 to 42% people on the edible items,” he said.

Sugar will be available at Rs89.75 per kg across the country and wheat flour at Rs55 per kg for everyone and Rs43 for the poor people, said Cheema.

While commenting on the IMF talks, Tarin said that the power sector will be an issue and “we will try to find a solution to that”. He added: “There is no prior action on the power sector and everything will be discussed during these talks.” He again said that increasing tariffs was not a solution to the power sector’s problems.

The minister said that the government has shown progress in the revenue collection during the current fiscal year and it would expand the tax base by using technology. “Pakistan and the IMF are expected to begin programme review talks from October 4.”

Responding to a question about his six months ministerial term that is going to end on October 15th, the finance minister said, “I am not going anywhere and I have trust in the prime minister’s promise of getting me elected as senator.”

However, Imran Khan has not yet announced a schedule for his election, as it will require at least 23 days from the point of getting a seat vacated by a sitting senator and electing a new senator in his place.

 

[MenInG]

The federal government on Monday appointed Shaukat Tarin, the former finance minister, as adviser to the prime minister on finance and revenue after his tenure as a federal minister expired on Oct 16.

According to a notification, the president appointed Tarin as the adviser on the recommendation of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Tarin has been awarded the status of a federal minister in his role as the adviser.

As an adviser, Tarin cannot chair meetings of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) or other cabinet committee meetings as per a high court ruling.

On April 16, Prime Minister Imran Khan, instead of appointing Tarin as his adviser on finance, appointed the banker as the finance minister, for which, as per law, he needed to be a member of parliament within six months.

However, the government has been unable to get Tarin elected to parliament to date. But it seems there were efforts underway to get Tarin elected to the Senate on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar's seat as the latter still hasn't taken the oath.

In this regard, the government issued an ordinance that made it mandatory for returning candidates to take oath within 60 days of the commencement of the first sitting of the maiden session of the legislature.

The amendment was made to Section 72 of the Election Act 2017. Under the amendment, the members would have to take oath within forty days of the promulgation of the ordinance.

 

[MenInG]

The government on Monday appointed Shaukat Tarin as adviser to prime minister on finance, which would also now require reconstitution of four committees including three cabinet bodies, besides adding another layer in the decision-making process of the finance ministry.

Tarin was notified as the finance and revenue adviser after Prime Minister Imran Khan could not fulfil his promise of getting him elected as a senator before the expiry of his six-month ad-hoc constitutional ministerial term.

The president, on the advice of the premier, has been pleased to appoint, with immediate effect, Shaukat Fayyaz Ahmed Tarin as adviser to the prime minister on finance and revenue, with the status of federal minister, according to a Cabinet Division notification.

However, Tarin’s status as federal minister will be symbolic, as he cannot exercise the powers of a minister due to a judgment issued by the Islamabad High Court. In December last year, the court ruled that unelected advisers and special assistants to the prime minister cannot exercise executive or administrative powers in the functioning of the government and only elected representatives chosen by the people had the privilege to run the affairs of ministries.

After Tarin’s notification as adviser, the four committees have become headless. Sources said that the government is in the process of reconstituting the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) – the most important cabinet body, the Cabinet Committee on State-owned Enterprises, the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.

Two separate summaries are being moved by the Cabinet Division. One summary will be meant to appoint chairpersons of these committees and the second to give additional charge of the portfolio of the finance and revenue minister, the sources said. However, it will be up to the prime minister whether he would retain the finance minister portfolio or designate any cabinet member, as the finance minister.

The sources said that the finance ministry’s routine work would also get affected due to an August 2016 judgment by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The tax laws have also clearly defined the roles of the cabinet and the federal government. On matters where the authority of a decision rests with the finance minister such summaries will have to be sent to either the prime minister or any minister that is designated as the finance minister.

Tarin had been appointed as an unelected finance minister on April 17 and his constitutional tenure ended at the weekend.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry had stated that Tarin will be elected as senator from the Punjab seat of Ishaq Dar that will be vacated by October 13. The government could not get Dar’s seat vacant despite making an attempt and promulgating a Presidential Ordinance.

Fawad was not available for comments.

The sources said that now the government was planning on getting Tarin elected from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Before the announcement of getting Tarin elected from Punjab, the government had planned to get him elected from K-P but it could not find a seat for him.

The sources said that Tarin’s vote is registered in Punjab and in case the battle is fought in K-P, he may have to change his address on the Computerised National Identity Card, find a temporary residence there and also get electricity bills of the residence.

The ambiguity remains about Pakistan’s future finance minister amid failure of Pakistan-IMF October 4-15 talks for the sixth review of Pakistan’s economy. Under the revised schedule, the sixth review talks had to be concluded by June this year for the release of the $1 billion loan tranche, according to the IMF documents.

The IMF report showed that the seventh review had to begin from September 3, 2021 but the government is not able to complete even the sixth review till date.

On Sunday, the Finance Division said that negotiations between Pakistan and the IMF have been moving forward in Washington positively. It said that no timeframe was set at any stage for the conclusion of talks.

However, the IMF mission team that had arrived in Doha before the start of sixth review talks has returned to Washington, sources told The Express Tribune.

Resident Representative of IMF Teresa Daban did not directly reply to the question about the IMF team returning to Washington but said both the sides “remain engaged”. Due to time zone difference, the IMF team had been stationed in Doha for smooth functioning of the programme talks.

 

[MenInG]

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin on Friday said the government will not impose any new taxes in the upcoming 'mini budget', but it will withdraw some tax exemptions given to various sectors to increase revenue.

Talking to media persons in Karachi, the finance adviser said that as per an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached in March this year, the government had agreed to generate Rs700 billion in taxes to receive the third tranche under the IMF loan programme.

"When I became the finance minister, I had said we will not increase taxes. We will not allow [the IMF] to impose more taxes on people who are already paying them."

During the talks, the finance ministry did not agree to more taxation, he said, adding that the government convinced the IMF to bring down the revenue target to about Rs300b.

Tarin said the IMF had asked Pakistan regarding the tax exemptions which 'distorted' the tax system and added that the fund's arguments were valid on such exemptions.

The finance adviser said the IMF asked Pakistan to give ‘targetted subsidies’ with an across-the-board sales tax rate of 17 per cent. “They say, ‘you [Pakistan] have imposed 17 per cent sales tax on some [sectors], zero on some and 10pc on some’.”

He also questioned the gas subsidy to the fertilizer industry that amounted to Rs150 billion and said the government did not impose taxes on the sector either, questioning if the move was benefiting the farmers as well?

The government will provide direct subsidies to farmers through the Ehsaas database, he said hinting at an end to subsidies for the fertiliser sector.

Rupee will 'move on both sides'

During the talk, Tarin also warned ‘speculators’ whom he blamed for a disproportionate exchange rate.

According to Tarin, as per the “real exchange rate”, the Pakistani Rupee should be traded around Rs165-167 against the US dollar, but due to speculators, the rupee was undervalued by Rs10.

He also shot down rumours that the rupee will be demonetised. “The government will not take measures that would hurt the businesses’ confidence or create distortion in the market,” Tarin said, adding that measures were on the cards to stabilise the rupee.

“The speculators will be defeated so don’t get into this kind of speculation. Rupee will move on both sides,” he warned.

Revival of IMF deal
On Monday, Pakistan agreed to take Rs800 billion measures through a combination of cut in expenditures and slapping about Rs500 billion in taxes, including Rs20 per litre fuel tax, to revive the stalled $6 billion IMF programme.

“The tax collection target of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been increased to Rs6.1 trillion – an addition of roughly Rs300 billion – and the government will also have to get the State Bank of Pakistan amendment bill approved from parliament,” Tarin had said.

While revealing what the government will have to do in less than two months, Tarin did not hide details of what sounded like very harsh IMF conditions which, if implemented in letter and spirit, would not only consume significant political capital but also unleash another wave of inflation.

“Price stability, exchange rate of the rupee and the level of the interest rate will be the responsibility of the central bank in which the government will have no role,” Tarin told reporters, while sharing details of what had been agreed with the IMF in the name of the SBP autonomy.

“There will also be another increase in power tariff in the next few months, currently estimated to be increased by about 50 paisa per unit but its exact quantum will be determined at the level of circular debt,” Energy Minister Hammad Azhar had said at the news conference.

The media talk was held hours after an announcement by the IMF about the measures that Pakistan would have to take to secure approval of the $1 billion loan tranche.

Tarin had said once all the conditions were met, the IMF board would meet in January to approve the sixth review of the economy.

“The Pakistani authorities and IMF staff have reached a staff-level agreement on policies and reforms needed to complete the 6th review under the EFF,” the IMF statement had said.

The IMF statement had suggested that Pakistan was still only halfway through to securing the $1 billion loan, as the IMF’s Executive Board approval had been formally linked with the implementation of the pre-conditions.

“The prior actions for the IMF board meeting will include introduction of the supplementary finance bill in the National Assembly, increase in the petroleum development levy by Rs4 every month so that it reached the maximum rate of Rs30, approval of the SBP Amendment Bill and the audit of Covid-19 expenditures and sharing details about the beneficial ownership of coronavirus vaccines,” Tarin had added.

 

[gazza619]

The country is in a mess when it comes to inflation. Covid hasn't helped.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin on Friday admitted that urban lower-middle-income group was strangulated due to a soaring inflation but urged industrialists to increase wages aimed at helping them meet both ends.

Addressing a news conference along with Prime Minster’s Adviser on Commerce Razak Dawood, Tarin said that the industrialists were making money but were not increasing salaries of their employees.

The urban lower-middle class was strangulated, he said, adding the government was trying to provide them relief.

Tarin’s comments seem to be an admission of the existence of a double-digit inflation. His comments came days after the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported the highest pace of inflation in the country in the last 21 months.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has a strong vote base in the cities, which is now directly affected by its policies. Tarin claimed that the rural and the upper urban middle classes were not affected by the prevailing inflation. “The upper middle income class is buying cars at a premium,” he said.

Tarin urged the people to have patience, stressing that the prices would come down, eventually. He added that the government was trying to help the people through interest-free loans and targeted subsidies.

The PBS reported this week that the CPI-based inflation accelerated to 12% in urban areas – the highest level since January 2020. The inflation rate swelled to 10.9% in villages and towns – the highest read since March 2020, according to the PBS.

Tarin said that the items whose prices increased were all imported goods. However, he stressed that there was no need to panic, saying that the people should only panic if the situation persisted until February or March next year.

“I have restrained myself from increasing the sales tax rate on petrol to 17%, which at the moment is 1.6%,” the prime minister’s aide told reporters. “In case of 17% sales tax on petrol, its price will go up to Rs175 per litre.”

He once again blamed the economic team led by his predecessor, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, for poorly negotiating the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in March last year, which, according to him, could further fuel the inflation once all the conditions were implemented.

Under the new IMF deal, the government has committed to impose over Rs525 billion worth of taxes on consumers, increase electricity prices and withdraw untargeted subsidies. All these would lead to another round of inflation, according to the analysts.

Insisting that the country’s economy was moving in the right direction, Tarin stated that exports and remittances would shrink the widening trade gap. He added that there was a 36% increase in tax collection during the first five months of the fiscal year, which suggested that the economy was growing.

However, the break-up of the FBR collection figures showed that nearly 54% revenues collected at the import stage. The sales tax at the import stage grew 80% but it was negative at the domestic stage, according to the FBR figures.

The data released by the PBS on Thursday showed that the trade deficit widened to $20.6 billion in the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year due to a significant surge in imports that outpaced the increase in exports.

The deficit was $10.9 billion, or 112%, more than the comparative period of previous year, it added. The widening trade deficit suggests that by June next year, it will be far higher than the target of $28.4 billion set by the government. The five-month deficit was already equal to 72.5% of the annual target.

Tarin said that the $7.84 billion record monthly import bill in November was because of an increase in the commodity prices. He added that rising commodity prices in the international market had increased the import bill by $1.5 billion during the first five months of the fiscal year.

“The 90% increase in import bill was because of high commodity prices and even if we take measures the impact will be only on 10% of the remaining goods, which would not be sufficient,” the finance adviser told the press conference.

However, he continued that the government had decided to ban the import of vehicles for the remaining period of this fiscal year. “At this stage, there is no need to import big cars,” Tarin said. He indicated that the government might impose regulatory duties but did not elaborate.

Speaking on the occasion, the adviser to the prime minister on commerce expressed satisfaction over the increase in the import of raw materials. Razak Dawood also said that the imports of machinery and energy were increasing.

 

[MenInG]

PESHAWAR: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has been elected as a senator on Monday in the by-election for a general seat of the Senate, days before the mini-budget.

The election was held at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, which began at 9am and ended at 4pm.

Tarin bagged 87 votes, while according to KP Health Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra, four votes were rejected, while five lawmakers did not partake in the elections.

The seat fell vacant as last month, PTI’s Ayub Afridi had resigned from the Senate to make way for Tarin. As per the rules, when a seat falls vacant, the Election Commission of Pakistan is bound to hold elections on it within 30 days.

It should be noted that to get elected, a candidate needs more than 50% votes of the 145 members. The PTI has 94 members in the provincial assembly, the JUI-F has 15, ANP 12, PML-N 7, PPP five, the Balochistan Awami Party four, Jamaat-e-Islami three, and the PML-Q each have one member.

The government is set to present a Rs360 billion mini-budget before the Parliament later this week for withdrawal of General Sales Tax (GST) exemptions and slapping standard rate of 17% on import of essential consumable and industrial goods.

It was important for Tarin to get elected as a senator as according to the rules, only elected representatives can present the budget in the Parliament.

Tarin was appointed as the finance minister in April during a cabinet reshuffle, however, his stint had ended in October, and the government changed his portfolio to an advisor on finance, as a non-elected person can remain a federal minister for six months.

GEO

 

[MenInG]

Newly-elected senator Shaukat Tarin has taken oath as the finance minister of Pakistan during a swearing-in ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Monday.

President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday administered the oath of office to Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin. The ceremony was attended by the federal and provincial ministers, including State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir, Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood and other senior government officers.

A notification issued by the Cabinet Division said that Senator Shaukat Tareen has been given the portfolio of Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue.

"ln exercise of the powers-conferred by clause (1) of Article 92 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President, on the advice of the Prime Minister, has been pleased to appoint Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin as Federal Minister, with immediate effect," read the notification.

The notification added that Tarin shall cease to hold the office of Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue.

Back in October, the federal government appointed Shaukat Tarin as Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue.

Tarin swears in as senator

Days ago, Tarin took oath as senator. The senator signed the roll of members as required by the rules.

Last week, Tarin won the senate seat from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) last by securing 87 votes. Awami National Party’s (ANP) Shaukat Jamal Ameerzada, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Zahir Shah, and Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Mohammad Saeed were the other candidates in the race for the Senate seat.

Tarin likely to become Senator on Dec 20th

The seat was vacated by Muhammad Ayub Afridi, who resigned from the upper house of parliament in November.

https://www.brecorder.com/news/40142788/shaukat-tarin-sworn-in-as-pakistan-finance-minister

 

[MenInG]

PTI Senator and former finance minister Shaukat Tarin said on Friday that political interference by power brokers had derailed the economy and placed the country as well as the masses into a serious financial crisis.

Addressing a news conference along with former energy minister Hammad Azhar, he said economy was moving in the right direction in March 2022. Without mentioning any name, Mr Tarin said that he had cautioned the power brokers not to take any new political venture.

“I told this to those who matter in the power corridors that economy was on the right track and if there was any political interference, this economic growth trajectory could break too,” he said. “And [then] it happened. Within two months, they broke the economic cycle,” he added.

He said the current setup has failed to manage the economy and the only option is to hold fresh elections as soon as possible.

“They have to understand that they cannot simply drop such bombs on the citizens and that they should resign and hold fresh elections,” the former finance minister said, in an apparent reference to the recent heavy increase in prices of petroleum products and electricity.

The previous PML-N government had left a current account deficit of around $20 billion and as a result, the PTI government was forced to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), recalled Mr Tarin.

He said the then prime minister Imran Khan had announced a plan to freeze fuel and electricity prices up to July and even lower them by Rs10. “We had a plan to cover the gap,” he claimed, adding: “The plan was to get cheap Russian oil and PM Khan had discussions over it with President Vladimir Putin.” He added that Russian oil would be Rs40-50 per litre cheaper, but they could not buy it, as it would have annoyed the US and this is what they could not afford.

“We had plans to give targeted subsidies, and the refinery margins were lowered to Rs14 per litre, but now they have been raised to Rs70 per litre for diesel and more than Rs50 for petrol,” the former minister said.

He added that these refineries were pocketing a huge sum of money, and added that 60 per cent of diesel and 25pc of petrol consumed in the country were locally produced.

Mr Tarin also highlighted the social sector reforms undertaken by the former PTI government.

“When we used to increase by Rs1 or 3 per litre there was a serious reaction by these PDM parties. Miftah Ismail sahab and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi sahab used to say it was a petrol bomb on the masses. Now the increase of Rs60 per litre should be termed as dropping an atom bomb on the masses,” Mr Tarin said.

Meanwhile, Mr Azhar termed the incumbent government as an “imposed setup.”

“A false and incorrect narrative that was established when they were in the opposition has been exposed now,” the former energy minister said, adding that the PTI government had decided to purchase oil at discounted rates from Russia from April.

“But these cartoons sitting at the helm of affairs claim that Pakistan has no money to buy Russian oil. PSO has purchased oil at spot rates in recent months at a very high price,” Mr Azhar said.

He lamented that the finance minister did not know that there were no sanctions on buying oil from Russia, but even Sri Lanka was buying oil from Russia.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2022