In an effort to resurrect the country’s economy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted six cabinet committees, which will be headed not by the federal minister for finance, but by concerned ministers, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Sunday.
According to a report by a private news channel, the Energy Committee will be headed by none other than the prime minister himself, while for the first time, the privatization committee has been placed under the control of the country’s foreign minister, who is currently Ishaq Dar.
Hitherto, the finance minister would be its head.
The committee has reportedly been assigned the duty to look after the privatization of PIA and other loss-making state-owned entities.
The reason for making the foreign minister the committee’s head is that he would also be able to attract foreign investment.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will lead the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC). It merits mention that earlier the prime minister had decided that he would be the committee's head.
But in a development on Sunday, he reorganized the committee and handed it over to the finance minister.
Another committee, which has been tasked with attracting investment from China, especially in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), has been placed under the control of Ahsan Iqbal, while Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will lead the government enterprises committee.
Likewise, for the first time in the country’s history, the cabinet committee for the disposal of legislative cases has been formed. Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar will be its head.