PM chairs briefing on inflation, corona impacts

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan was Friday briefed by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on the decision-making system in view of inflation and the social and economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The briefing was attended by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Information Minister Senator Shibli Faraz, Planning Minister Asad Umar, Industries Minister Hammad Azhar, Trade Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood, Special Excise Assistant Dr Waqar Masood and senior officials.

The member statistics informed the meeting that a digital system for government decision-making has been set up keeping in view the inflation rate. Under this system, the Bureau of Statistics collects data on essential commodities from districts across the country and compares them.

The meeting was informed that this system has been developed under the Prime Minister's Digital Pakistan Vision to enable timely decision-making. The system will provide timely information on essential commodity prices to the National Price Monitoring Committee, federal ministries, provincial governments and district administrations.

Appreciating the digital system, the prime minister said that it would help in monitoring the prices of essential commodities and evaluate the performance of the district administration. The prime minister said that this system would highlight the element of transparency in the decision-making process.

The prime minister was also given a detailed briefing on the survey conducted on the social and economic impact of the corona pandemic. The meeting was informed that the survey collected data on employment, income, remittances, food, health and measures to deal with corona. According to the survey, more households were economically affected by the onset of the corona. However, due to timely measures of the government and smart lockdown policy, this rate has been declining since July 2020.

The prime minister said that the government continued to focus on providing relief to the poor and working class during the corona pandemic. He said that the global economy was affected by the epidemic but with the help of Almighty Allah and timely actions of the government, Pakistan overcame this difficult situation and the whole world appreciated Pakistan’s efforts.

Separately, he was given briefing on the Universal Health Coverage in Punjab government. Special Assistant for Health Dr Faisal Sultan was present in the briefing. Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid participated through video link.

The prime minister was informed that all the permanent residents of Punjab would have access to health card facility by December 2021, which would enable treatment in public and private hospitals.

The prime minister was informed that health card facility would be provided to seven million families across Punjab. Special attention is being paid to backward districts including Dera Ghazi Khan and Sahiwal.

The premier said that quality medical treatment is a basic right of every citizen. “Our government has initiated health sector reforms aimed at helping the poor and deserving. He said that all possible assistance would be provided by the government to the private sector for setting up hospitals in remote areas.

Meanwhile, in a tweet, he said, “I want to thank our overseas Pakistanis for yet another record-breaking month of remittances in Dec $2.4 bn. MashaAllah, 1st time in Pakistan remittances have been above $2 bn for 6 consecutive months. Total for 6 months of this fiscal year $14.2 bn - a 24.9 percent growth over last year.”