Referring to the economic challenges, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday he would soon announce a five-year homegrown economic programme for the revival of the national economy.
“The ‘Home-Grown Economic Program’ would envisage measures to boost the country’s economy by uplifting agriculture, information technology and other untapped sectors,” the prime minister said, addressing the launching ceremony of the Buna-Raast connectivity project in Islamabad.
He said broad parameters for the programme had already been finalised through months-long deliberations with the stakeholders.
“Great work has gone into it. By next week or so, we will finalise it. I will go to the people to announce the programme for the next five years,” he remarked.
Highlighting the challenges of reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue and power sector, Shehbaz said he was personally monitoring the FBR’s digitisation and that the government was hopeful of positive outcomes of power sector reforms.
“There is no magic wand. It is all about hard work, sacrifice, blood and sweat. Insha Allah, you will see we will have dividends and will find our place in the comity of nations through hard work, hard work and hard work,” he said. The prime minister said that besides easing the remittance-sending process digitally, it would also help boost the country’s foreign exchange and further strengthen the already cordial relations between Pakistan and the Arab world.
Calling it a great step forward in promoting financial transactions through modern techniques, he said the project would expand the reach of Pakistan’s digital payment infrastructure.
“This signifies how 21st-century Pakistan is moving ahead by augmenting modern technologies in the people’s lives. This is the first cross-border real-time payment system linkage that will make remittances more affordable and accessible,” he said.
