Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Monday, said that economic stability and provision of relief to the public remained government’s top priorities and all measures were being taken to not only provide immediate relief but also ensure long-term economic stability.
Economic stability, public relief, govt’s top priorities; Pakistan prepared to face global economic challenges: PM
ISLAMABAD, March 16 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Monday, said that economic stability and provision of relief to the public remained government’s top priorities and all measures were being taken to not only provide immediate relief but also ensure long-term economic stability.
He said that the Government of Pakistan was prepared to face any situation arising from the ongoing global tensions.
The prime minister chaired a review meeting regarding enforcement of austerity and relief measures and conservation and management of petroleum reserves in the wake of emerging situation in the region.
The prime minister directed petroleum distribution companies to ensure sale of petroleum products at the government-determined prices and to maintain transparency in this matter, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Minister for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani and relevant senior officials.
The prime minister told the participants that in view of the current global situation, consultations were being held regarding additional measures to provide relief to the public, adding due to the government’s timely decisions, an adequate quantity of petroleum products was currently available in the country.
He said considering the global fluctuating situation, the decisions taken by the committee formed in a timely manner to maintain economic stability, had ensured the continuous supply of petroleum products for the public.
The prime minister further said that measures for austerity and savings at the national level had already been implemented, and further initiatives were being mulled over, adding the directives had already been issued for a third-party audit to ensure the implementation of all these decisions.
During the meeting, the prime minister was briefed on the country’s existing oil reserves, imports of petroleum products to meet local demand and measures to provide relief to the public in the current scenario.
The meeting was apprised that the government was continuously monitoring the sale of petroleum products at the fixed prices while to ensure the uninterrupted supply of oil and its sale at the prescribed price, a feature had been added to the Pak App enabling consumers to report certain issues.
Through the Pak App, consumers could now inform the relevant authorities about the unavailability of fuel or its sale at higher prices anywhere in the country, upon which the immediate action would be taken, it was added.
The participants of the meeting appreciated prime minister’s decision last Friday not to further increase petroleum prices.
