ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Finance on Tuesday reiterated the government’s resolve to overcome the power shortage in the country and vowed to utilise all resources to achieve the objective.
He stated this while chairing a meeting to review the process of reforms for the development of power sector in the country.
Secretary Water & Power shared with the meeting a brief on the measures sought for the reforms process envisaging to remove impediments in the development and growth of the power sector. The measures particularly aim to bring cohesion between the policy (generation, transmission, distribution) and regulatory regimes in the power sector to facilitate its overall betterment, the meeting was informed.
The finance minister, on the occasion, passed instructions for a detailed review of the proposals put forth by the Ministry of Water and Power by all the stakeholders. He welcomed inputs for improvement in these proposals. The minister said a consolidated report in this regard, reflecting on all legal, financial and administrative aspects of the proposed reformatory measures be submitted to him for further consideration.
Meeting reviews IMF
Programme, DPC-III
Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar here Tuesday chaired a meeting to review the IMF programme with particular focus on the recently concluded 10th review.
The meeting also reviewed the DPC-III Growth matrix. It was noted that the reforms in various areas of the economy were on track. The successful implementation of reforms had enabled the economy to achieve stability, providing the foundation necessary for sustained growth. The minister on the occasion emphasized close coordination among all Ministries concerned for ensuring implementation of the reform measures.
Meanwhile, under Secretary General, United Nations (UN) and Executive Secretary, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Dr Shamshad Akhtar called on Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar here on Tuesday.
She was accompanied by ESCAP senior officials, Yuwei Li and Hongpeng Liu.
Dr Shamshad at the outset of the meeting extended invitation to the Finance Minister regarding participation in the high level follow up dialogue on financing for development in the Asia Pacific. The event is scheduled to be held in Incheon, Republic of Korea from 30-31 March 2016. The Minister said the invitation would be accorded due consideration.
The minister apprised the visiting dignitary about the reforms undertaken by the government and the macroeconomic stability that Pakistan has achieved.

He said the government was now well set on the path to consolidating the gains it had made and was fully focused on economic growth and generating employment opportunities.
He said the economic turnaround that Pakistan has achieved, has encouraged foreign investors to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan. He said China was at the forefront to take advantage of the investment opportunities and now investors from other countries were also following suit.
There was also detailed discussion on Pakistan’s efforts for regional connectivity projects particularly those in the energy and communication sectors. The minister cited the examples of CASA-1000, and Torkham-Jalalabad road project which would contribute to the objective of regional connectivity.
Dr. Shamshad said that the economic performance of the government was laudable and the progress in the energy sector is also noteworthy. She said CPEC would generate economic opportunities and lead to overall progress in the region. She said ESCAP has had good cooperation with Chinese companies in power sector and was ready to extend any help that Pakistan needed for its energy projects.
Dr Shamshad thanked the Finance Minister for taking time out of his busy schedule for the meeting and added she looked forward to his participation in the Dialogue on Financing for Development in the Asia Pacific.