Presided over by Senator Ahmed Ali, the meeting suggested shifting of more resources for pulling the down-troden segment of population out of the vicious poverty circle. The government and independent organisations have of late been contradicting each other on the extent of poverty in Pakistan.
The recent upbeat of economic managers of Shaukat Aziz administration claim the poverty has been down to 23 per cent. But their claim could not last long as the World Bank differed with the figure and put it on 29 percent.
A Senator told Business Recorder after the meeting that most of the members appeared unconvinced when a finance ministry advisor claimed the country was heading fast towards a poverty-free society. "We (members) have asked why it is not reflected by other indicators like unemployment if poverty is reducing in Pakistan," Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) Senator Professor Khurshid Ahmed told this correspondent.
Similarly, members were also critical of high interest rates of commercial banks that they argued were ruining the industry. Despite all the criticism and doubts, Ministry of Finance Advisor Dr Ashfaque Hassan Khan insisted Pakistan economy was stronger than ever before and was moving ahead at a rapid pace.
He said that the economy had fared well during the last couple of years despite trying circumstances and pressures like the rising oil prices in the international market and last year's earthquake.
He expressed the confidence the economy would be able to come out of woods completely in due course of time and hasten its transition towards economic prosperity. "Pakistan has been able to reduce the budget deficit and the current account deficit substantially," he claimed.
He hoped the country would be able to bring the budget deficit down to the highly desirable level of 2.5 percent to 3 percent within 3-4 years. He said the foreign remittances might reach $4.9 billion in this financial year.
Dr Ashfaque also disclosed that Pakistan has qualified for 'General Data Dissemination System' (GDDS) launched by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after thorough scrutiny of economic data. "Nobody should have any doubts regarding the reliability of our economic data and statistics," he opined.