Muhammad Aurangzeb – Page 2

Govt committed to reduce expenditures, boot revenues: Aurangzeb

June 18, 2024 by Abid Khan

ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb reiterated government’s commitment to reduce expenditures and boost revenues as part of a comprehensive effort to strengthen the country’s economy on sustainable grounds.

Addressing a press conference in his hometown, Kamalia, the minister said the federal government would shut down parallel ministries or departments that have been devolved to provinces.

This move is expected to significantly reduce expenditure and improve efficiency, adding, the Prime Minister has already announced the closure of Pakistan Public Works Department, a move that will help reduce the financial burden on the government.

Secondly, the government will privatize state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which have been a significant drain on the national exchequer. The minister cited the example of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which has a liability of 622 billion that has been transferred to the government.

The minister also announced that airport outsourcing is being completed, with Karachi airport set to be handed over to the private sector by July or August this year, to be followed by Lahore airport.

The government is committed to reducing losses and burdens on the federal government, and these measures are part of a larger effort to achieve this goal.

The minister emphasized that the Prime Minister was personally leading the effort to reduce expenditures and improve efficiency.

On revenue side, the minister emphasized the need to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio from 9.5% to 13% over the next three years, stressing that taxes are essential for running the country.

To achieve this goal, the government has announced revenue measures, including bringing the non-taxable sector into the tax base, gradually eliminating tax exemptions worth Rs3.9 trillion, and rephrasing policies in areas like health and agriculture.

The minister announced that 32,000 retailers have already been registered and will be taxed starting from July 2024, and emphasized the government’s commitment to bringing other sectors into the tax net.

The government is also focusing on compliance, plugging leakages in the system, and implementing an end-to-end digitization system to reduce human intervention, increase transparency, and end corruption. Sales tax automation is a top priority, he remarked.

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Budget 2024-25: Govt increases minimum salary from 32,000 to 36,000

June 12, 2024 by Abid Khan

Good News! Salaries expected to be increased by 10% in Budget 2025-26

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has increased the minimum monthly salary of private sector employees from 32,000 to 36,000 in the budget 2024-25.

Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in the budget speech said government has also increased the salaries of government employees in the budget.

According to the budget document, in order to improve the purchasing power of civil servants from grades 1 to 16, the salaries are being increased by 25 percent, while the salaries of officers from grades 17 to 22 are being increased by 22 percent.

It is proposed to increase the pension of retired employees by 22 percent.

Meanwhile, government introduced the scheme in the budget for the financial year 2024-25 to bring down the pension expenditure.

The Federal Finance Minister said in the budget speech in the National Assembly that the federal government has an unfunded pension liability of trillions of rupees and the pension expenses are increasing rapidly. Therefore, the rate of increase in these costs needs to be reduced.

The Finance Minister said that the government has formulated a strategy for the reform of this sector on which the consultation has been completed to a large extent.

He said that according to international standards, reforms will be brought in the existing pension scheme, which will result in substantial reduction in the pension liability for the next three decades.

The finance minister added that a contributory pension scheme will be introduced for new employees in which the government’s share will be paid every month. This will ensure that future employees’ pensions are fully funded from the start of their employment.

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Gilani calls for maximum public relief in upcoming budget

May 30, 2024May 30, 2024 by Abid Khan

ISLAMABAD: Acting President Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani stressed the need for extending maximum relief to the masses through the upcoming federal budget, and the formulation of a comprehensive strategy to enhance the revenue.

The acting president said this in a meeting with Minister of Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb, who called on him here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The finance minister briefed the acting president about the ongoing preparations for the upcoming people-friendly budget and the government’s measures to reduce inflation.

The minister said that a remarkable reduction in the inflation rate manifested the government’s constant and undeterred actions by the government.

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Countries are run by taxes not charity: Finance Minister

May 7, 2024 by Muzzammil Mehboob

The finance minister stressed that taxes are vital for running the country. He emphasizes that the burden of taxation shouldn’t fall solely on one class. The inflation is at 17% which is anticipated to decline further. ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday said that taxes are an integral part of the economy not … Read more

Talks with the IMF for new long program to start in coming days: Finance Minister Aurangzeb

May 6, 2024 by Muzzammil Mehboob

IMF talks for new loan program to start in coming days. These talks are hoped to be last. Aurangzeb stressed on more private leadership. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday said that discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new loan program, which is hoped to be the last, will initiate in the … Read more

PM Shehbaz Sharif arrives in KSA to attend WEF meeting

April 27, 2024 by Abid Khan

PM Shehbaz vows sustainable development as PML-N marks one year

RIYADH: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday arrived in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to participate in a special meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on ‘Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development’, being held from April 28-29.

Deputy Governor of the Riyadh region Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Bin Abdul Aziz, Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia and embassy staff received the prime minister and his delegation at the Riyadh Royal airport.

The prime minister was invited to attend the WEF meeting by Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Professor Klaus Schwab.

“The Prime Minister will be accompanied by a high level delegation including Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

The Prime Minister and the Ministers will participate in WEF discussions on issues related to trade and investment measures, new investment frameworks, restructuring of supply chains, sustainable growth, and the energy landscape,” Foreign Office Spokesperson said in a press release.

The high level participation in the Forum will afford an important opportunity to present Pakistan’s priorities specifically in global health architecture, inclusive growth, revitalizing regional collaboration and the need for striking a balance between promoting growth and energy consumption.

On the margins of the main event, the prime minister and his delegation will hold bilateral meetings with world leaders, including the Saudi leadership, heads of international organizations, and other prominent figures participating in the event.

About 1,000 leaders from business, government, and academia will participate in the Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development.

The meeting, April 28–29, will focus on new pathways to reinvigorate growth globally amid the challenges posed by an increasingly fragmented geopolitical and economic environment.

It will revolve around three themes: revitalizing global collaboration; a compact for inclusive growth; and catalyzing action on energy for development, it was added.

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Finance Minister eyes crucial new IMF deal in June

April 18, 2024April 18, 2024 by Abid Khan

WASHINGTON: As an International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) nine-month Standby Arrangement (SBA) edges towards completion, Pakistan has commenced discussions with the financial institution to secure a new deal, aimed at stabilizing the national economy.

“Pakistan expects an IMF mission to visit in May and would like to reach a staff-level agreement on its next loan by the end of June or early July,” Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb said in an interview with Bloomberg – one of the world’s leading news networks, focusing on business and capital market programming.

The interview was given on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank 2024 Spring Meetings, taking place in Washington DC, where the minister is representing Pakistan, as head of a delegation.

Securing a new deal would help boost Pakistan’s dollar bonds and stock market, which provided investors one of the best gains globally since the nation began the current IMF loan last July.

The IMF executive board is likely to approve the final disbursement of $1.1 billion later this month under the existing $3 billion SBA loan facility.

Pakistan recently repaid a $1 billion overseas bond after it closely averted a default on its debt last year and does not anticipate any significant currency devaluation as part of its negotiations with the IMF to unlock billions of dollars in lending and bolster its economic reform agenda.

“There will be no reason for the rupee to depreciate more than the range of about 6% to 8% seen in a typical year,” the finance minister said.

While massive devaluations had accompanied some of Pakistan’s previous IMF loans and are often a condition of the crisis lender’s programs globally, nothing comparable should be necessary this time around, he said.

“I don’t see the need for any step change,” Aurangzeb said, citing solid foreign exchange reserves, a stable currency, rising remittances, and steady exports. “The only thing which can be a wild card, although in our projections, we should be OK, is the oil price.”

The finance minister said Pakistan’s newly elected government was looking to bolster industries including agriculture and information technology with support that it hoped would help push the economy’s growth above 4 percent in the coming years.

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Finance Minister highlights Pakistan’s roadmap to address economic challenges

April 16, 2024 by Abid Khan

WASHINGTON: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb, who is leading Pakistan’s delegation in the IMF and World Bank-2024 Spring Meetings in Washington DC highlighted the country’s roadmap to cope with the confronted challenges and put economy on sustainable growth trajectory.

In an interactive session with Atlantic Council’s Geo-Economics Center and South Asia Center titled “Opportunities and Challenges for the Pakistani Economy through 2024 and Beyond”, he outlined Pakistan’s key measures to achieve economic stabilization by increasing tax-to-GDP ratio, undertaking end-to-end digitalization of FBR, reforming State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), boosting exports, increasing remittances, improving business environment and attracting foreign direct investments.

Sharing Pakistan’s current economic landscape, he said the country had entered in a much better shape this year than the beginning of the last year, adding it had to do a lot with the nine-month SBA programme which in turn “ushered in a macroeconomic stability for the country.”

He said the country’s overall GDP was moving in the right direction, although the headline number was not that significant, however different sectors were performing well.

He said, agriculture witnessed 5 percent growth owing to bumper crop; services sector was moving quite well and inflation had come down from the peak of 37-38 percent to closer to 20-22 percent while the exchange rate was stable.

“So all of this has moved us in the right direction, now we will take it forward from here [for which] we need, in the first instance, permanence in the macroeconomic stability,” adding the government had initiated discussion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the larger and extended programme that would help put economy on sustainable growth path .

The finance minister was of the view that the ”timely decisions and timely executions” were the key aspects to run even a smallest institution or the largest country on the planet .”

He said Pakistan does not need too many policy prescriptions as “we have known what and why, not for years but the decades.”

Aurangzeb said Pakistan was looking for a larger and extended programme as it would need two-three year time period to go through the structural reforms programme.

The finance minister termed discussions with IMF mission that visited Pakistan last month for the 2nd and final review of the SBA programme ‘very constructive and positive.’

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WB, IFC to continue support for Pakistan’s development goals

April 1, 2024 by Muhammad Zahid

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank (WB) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) here on Monday expressed resolve to continue support for Pakistan’s development goals and agendas for the welfare of the people of Pakistan. According to press statement issued by finance ministry, the Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb, was called on by WB Country Director, … Read more

Murad, Aurangzeb agree to attract foreign investment

March 30, 2024 by Abid Khan

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb have agreed to collaborate to attract foreign investment and boost exports, enhancing the financial stability of the province in general and of the country in particular.

The CM pointed out that his government has always paid its electricity bills on time, and if any outstanding bills needed to be reconciled, the federal government should have brought the issue to their attention instead of making at-source deductions.

The CM also said that the FBR after reading a news item of the cars registered in Sindh from 1948 to 2015 had deducted Rs6 billion of the province at source. Despite the resolution of the issue still the amount has not been refunded.

The Federal Finance Minister told the chief minister that he was working to develop a proper professional working relationship between the federal and provincial organizations.

“The federal and provincial organizations and institutions have to work together, learn from each other’s expertise, support each other for growth and cooperate for collective uplift and development,” he said.

Mohammad Aurangzeb assured the chief minister that the at-source deduction issue would be resolved amicably. The CM and the federal finance minister also discussed the price escalation of industrial gas. The chief minister said that the industrialists were quite upset with the increase in industrial gas prices.

The Federal finance minister said that during his meeting with the industrialists, they also complained to him. Therefore, they agreed to discuss the matter with the federal minister for petroleum to resolve the issue.

The chief minister said that in the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), the provincial government has not been given any new scheme for the last eight years. Compared to Sindh the other provinces have been given new schemes in the federal PSDP.

It was also agreed that the federal and provincial governments would work together to develop the agriculture sector on scientific and modern methods.

The CM told the federal finance minister that he was working to introduce new technologies to improve crop yield and measures being taken to ensure the provision of certified seed in the market.

Discussing the reconstruction of flood-devastated infrastructure, the CM told the federal finance minister that houses, school buildings, and roads were being reconstructed.

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Ramazan Package enhanced from Rs7.5bn to Rs12.5bn: Aurangzeb

March 29, 2024 by Muhammad Zahid

KARACHI: Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had enhanced Ramazan Package amount from Rs. 7.5 billion to 12.5 billion rupees so that people belonging to vulnerable segment of the society could be provided essential items on subsidized rates as compared to the open market. He said this, while … Read more

FM Aurangzeb will be new chairman of reshaped ECC

March 25, 2024March 24, 2024 by Muhammad Zahid

Finance Minister Aurangzeb will be new chairman of reshaped ECC

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reconstituted the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) within the federal cabinet. The official announcement specifies that Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has been appointed as its chairman. The committee will be led by the finance minister along with four other ministers overseeing economic affairs, commerce, power, petroleum, and planning, development, … Read more

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb submits paper for Senate election

March 16, 2024 by Abid Khan

Pakistan’s economic reforms on right path, says finance minister

LAHORE: Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has submitted his papers for the Senate election on Saturday.

Similarly, Pervez Rasheed, Mustafa Ramday and Ahad Cheema have submitted nomination papers from Pakistan Muslim League –Nawaz(PML-N) in which former senator Pervez Rasheed has submitted papers for the general seat and Mustafa Ramday has submitted the papers for the technocrat seat.

Meanwhile, Faiza Malik from Pakistan People Party (PPP) also submitted papers to participate in the Senate election.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has submitted the nomination papers of nine candidates for the general seats, three each for women and technocrats, and two for minorities in Sindh. He expressed hope that his party would win almost all the seats. He added that the PPP would release the final list of its candidates after the scrutiny of the nomination papers on Monday.

When the Chief Minister was asked about the trend of PPP winning more votes in successive Senate Elections.

To a question, the chief minister said that except for PPP no other party has filed nomination papers for the ladies, Technocrat and Minorities seats of the senate so far. “They may file as there was enough time, but we have filed,” he said and added he was hopeful that his party would clinch maximum seats.

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PM calls for complete roadmap to enhance IT exports

March 12, 2024March 12, 2024 by Abid Khan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif directed for submission of a comprehensive roadmap to boost IT exports.

He said the government would take steps to fully avail of the billion dollars potential of the country for IT exports, besides, the young people would be provided with required facilities of education, skills development and startups.

The prime minister chaired a review meeting on IT and Telecom sector.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja and the relevant senior officials.

During the meeting, the prime minister said that during their previous tenure, positive outcome was witnessed from the initiation of different projects in the IT sector.

He stressed upon resolution of all issues of start ups, freelancers and IT companies relating to banking.

Expressing his satisfaction over the IT export volume of more than $3 billion in the current year, he emphasized upon its further increase. For brining Pakistan’s IT sector at par with the international standards, they would have to work hard, he observed.

The prime minister also asked for submission of a comprehensive report regarding special technology zones. The meeting was apprised of progress on IT package announced by the prime minister during June 2023.

During the previous tenure, due to special attention of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the IT exports witnessed 13 percent increase during the first seven months of the current fiscal year when compared with previous corresponding year.

Under the Digiskills programme, a total of 4 million students of 17 batches, comprising 28 percent females, had been imparted training. Pakistan had emerged as the second top country in the world on the basis of numbers of freelancers. Pakistan was exporting IT products to 170 countries of the world, it was further added.

The meeting was informed that during the previous year, an investment of $400 million was made in Pakistani startups. The prime minister directed for taking of all necessary, legal and policy related steps to attract investment and boost IT exports.

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PM Shehbaz completes consultation for federal cabinet

March 6, 2024 by Abid Khan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has completed consultation with his close associates for the formation of the federal cabinet.

According to the sources, Muhammad Aurangzeb is likely to be made the Finance Minister, while Khawaja Asif is likely to be made the Defence Minister and Ishaq Dar is likely to be made the Foreign Minister.

Sources said that Ahsan Iqbal is likely to be given the portfolio of the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Privatization, while Atta Tarar is likely to get the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Sources said that Rana Sanaullah is likely to be made Special Assistant on Interior Affairs while Shamshad Akhtar can be made Special Assistant on Finance.

According to the sources, Amir Maqam is likely to be entrusted with the Ministry of Water Resources and Musadik Malik with the portfolio of Petroleum and Energy.

Sources say that Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Mustafa Kamal is likely to be made the Minister of Science and Technology, while Faisal Sabzwari is likely to be given the Ministry of Ports and Shipping and Farooq Sattar to get the Federal Ministry of Overseas.

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