PM directs economic team to grow media support on financial front

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed its economic team to frequently interact with media persons in order to develop support for the narrative in favour of government achievements on economic front.

So it is expected that Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh might interact with the media before his departure to Washington for attending annual meeting of Breton Wood Institutions (WBIs) such as the IMF and World Bank scheduled to be held in the ongoing month.

The IMF/WB’s annual meeting is scheduled to take place from October 14 to 20, 2019 at Washington DC in which Pakistan’s delegation led by Adviser to PM on Finance is expected to participate.

The Adviser to PM on Finance might attend for few days but other members of delegation including Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Secretary Economic Affairs and others might reach Washington earlier.

“The PM has directed the economic team to increase frequent interactions with the media”, said the official sources and added that the government perceived that it made some progress on economic front but fully reflected on the media.

The criticism on failure of government moves especially the element of pinch because of economic stabilisation programme attracted a lot of criticism and it could only be improved if the government performed well on economic fronts.

One independent economist commented that instead of managing media the government must focus on economic turnaround and service delivery through improved governance because economic indicators could not be distorted for too long.

So far the Ministry of Finance had started issuing long statements on economic stories usually on last day of the weekend as it had happened twice on last two Friday in a row when the Ministry issued long statements.

But it was reactive approach and the PTI led government required proactive approach to tackle arising challenges on the economic front.