Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday asked his economic team to focus on uplifting of construction and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sectors as the country’s economic indicators have started improving.
Chairing a meeting of his economic team, the prime minister felicitated the relevant departments and officials over the elevation of Pakistan’s ranking in ease of doing business by the World Bank, terming it a great achievement of the country, a PM Office statement said.
Axle load implementation on M-9 deferred for one year to facilitate traders
The meeting was attended by federal ministers Khusro Bakhtiar, Ali Zaidi, Omar Ayub and Hammad Azhar, advisors Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Abdul Razak Dawood and Dr Ishrat Hussain, special assistants Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Yousuf Baig Mirza, Shaukat Tareen, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Shabbar Zaidi, Governor State Bank Baqir Raza, Chairman Board of Investment Zubair Gilani and other senior officers.
Briefing the prime minister, State Bank Governor Baqir Raza said that around 46,940 cases are pending with the banking courts and their early disposal requires legal reforms.
Regarding promotion of SMEs, the prime minister was told that the Board of Governors of SMEDA comprising vibrant and expert people is being formed. The appointment of the SMEDA’s CEO will be made by December and a three-year strategy will also be formulated in this regard.
The prime minister told his economic team that it is among the government’s priorities to facilitate both the local as well as the foreign investors. He said the value of the local currency has regained stability and the indicators of the stock market are showing improvement. He also directed his team to facilitate the overseas Pakistanis by bringing ease in sending the remittances.
On the prime minister’s directive, the Frontier Works Organization deferred the implementation of the axle load policy on M-9 Motorway for one year. The decision was taken on the request of the trader’s community.
