Opposition and India in sync on FATF: PM Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday that the opposition and India were on the same page on the issue of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as India was making every effort to put Pakistan in the FATF blacklist.

Addressing a meeting of the government and party spokespersons here, the prime minister said the opposition had stopped the FATF legislation to blackmail the government. “In a democracy, the opposition has an important role to play for the country. The opposition is prioritising personal interest over national interest,” he said.

Imran Khan noted that the government would not compromise on the manifesto of accountability. He said allowing Nawaz Sharif to go abroad was on humanitarian grounds. He emphasised that the FATF laws would be passed by the parliament in any case.

The prime minister also directed to convene a meeting of the National Assembly and the Senate from Monday.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan said that all possible steps were being taken to provide relief to the common man, focusing on improving the economic and social conditions. In a meeting with Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Babar Awan, he discussed important constitutional, legal and national issues, while detailed consultations were also held on FATF-related legislation and parliamentary matters.

Babar Awan briefed the prime minister on the FATF legislation. He also briefed the prime minister on the pending bills of various ministries on which the prime minister directed to send these bills to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs immediately.

The prime minister said legislation in the interest of national security and public interest should not be delayed and all possible steps were being taken to provide relief to the common man and full attention was focused on improving the economic and social conditions.

Meanwhile, the prime minister asked for immediate implementation of the Supreme Court order for release of under-trial women prisoners and convicted women prisoners, who fulfilcriteria of the court order.

In tweets, the prime minister said, “After meeting with @mohrpakistan, Attorney General and Barrister Ali Zafar, I have also asked for immediate implementation of SC order 299/2020 for release under trial women prisoners and convicted women prisoners, who fulfil criteria of SC order.”

He also said, “I have also asked for immediate reports on foreign women prisoners & women on death row for humanitarian consideration.” Imran Khan also chaired a meeting to make the government subsidy system systematic and effective. The premier directed that every possible effort be made to improve the system of subsidies so that decisions in this regard could be taken and implemented in the public interest.

The forum was attended by Information and Broadcasting Minister Senator Shibli Faraz, Industries Minister Hammad Azhar, Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Adviser on Institutional Reforms Dr Ishrat Hussain, Special Assistant Dr Shahbaz Gill, Finance Secretary Naveed Kamran and other senior officers.

Former finance minister Shaukat Tareen, Chairman Habib Bank Sultan Ali Alana, Arif Habib and Dr Ijaz Nabi also attended the meeting through video link. The prime minister was briefed on the direct and indirect subsidies given by the government in various sectors, the expenditure incurred on these subsidies, shortcomings in the existing subsidy system and the think-tank set up to further streamline the subsidy system. A detailed briefing on the progress made so far was given to the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, the prime minister said that the government was bearing the burden of billions of rupees every year in terms of subsidies in various sectors. He said that the first priority of the government was to make the subsidy system systematic and efficient so that the assistance provided from the public exchequer would not only reach the deserving but also achieve the desired results.

The prime minister said the government's priorities regarding the subsidy system are very clear. These include support for the poor, socio-economic development, bringing backward areas and classes on par with other parts of the country, supporting exports, small and medium enterprises, construction and the development of the agricultural sector.

Meanwhile, PM Imran Khan met successful business personalities from various fields. The successful and young entrepreneurs were from IT, sports goods, fashion and textile, beauty industry and other fields. The delegation presented various suggestions to the prime minister regarding business experiences in their respective fields, impact of government policies and further improving the business environment.

The prime minister said that the priority of the present government was to promote business activities and give them as many incentives as possible, as well as remove obstacles and difficulties and create conducive environment for business.

He mentioned measures like ease of doing business, introduction of online approval system, provision of loans on easy terms and said that youngsters who show the essence of their abilities in various fields are an asset of the country and the government facilitates them. He said the government was determined to take all possible steps in this regard.