Waqar Masood redesignated as SAPM on Finance, Revenues

ISLAMABAD: In a major but expected development, Prime Minister Imran Khan has re-designated Dr Waqar Masood as Special Assistant to PM on Finance and Revenues with the status of Minister of State with immediate effect.

Earlier, Dr Waqar Masood was serving as Special Assistant to PM on Revenues only. However, the government issued a fresh notification here on Thursday and re-designated Dr Waqar Masood as Special Assistant to PM on Finance and Revenues.

After appointment of Shaukat Tarin as Federal Minister for Finance and Revenues, it was expected that more key changes would be brought into the Finance Ministry with the purpose to bring a professional technocrat with the responsibility to run the IMF program in a more effective manner.

Now Dr Waqar Masood Khan has been brought in with the portfolio of SAPM on Finance and Revenues with the mandate to run the IMF program in such a way where Pakistan wants to re-negotiate conditions with the IMF under the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

Now the backdoor discussions would kick-start and its outcome could only be reflective in the upcoming budget for 2021-22. However, Pakistani authorities will try to convince the IMF to stagger hiking of electricity tariff and fixing of FBR target keeping in view the ground realities.

According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, in terms of rule 4 (6) of the Rules of Business 1973, the prime minister has been pleased to re-designate Dr Waqar Masood Khan, the Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Revenues, as Special Assistant to PM on Finance and Revenues with the status of Minister of State with immediate effect. Top official sources said that Dr Waqar Masood was not appointed as Secretary General Finance because he would be touching the age of 65 years in coming January 2022, so the government preferred to re-designate his existing portfolio by adding finance into it.

Now more changes are expected in the Ministry of Finance, before or after the announcement of the budget. Meanwhile, Farrukh Habib took oath as the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting. President Dr Arif Alvi administered him the oath at a ceremony at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Usman Dar has again been appointed as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs. He said that he would use all his abilities to achieve the goal of Naya Pakistan.