Daily Times

Finance Minister Asad Umar has said that the first decision of the new cabinet was to form a high powered taskforce to recover unlawful wealth stashed abroad.

In a Tweet, he maintained that those who have stolen public money and have hidden it abroad is loud and clear.

He visited the Finance Ministry and held a media talk. Asad Umar asserted that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf will make revolutionary changes in the economy with support of the people.

He stressed that tax base will be increased for revenue generation by revamping the Federal Board of Revenue.

The finance minister said the looted wealth of the country will be brought back and people’s money will be spent on people. He noted that all decisions will be made in parliament.

“After approval from the cabinet, bonds and sukuk will be issued for overseas Pakistanis. The task force will present its report in two weeks. No information is yet present regarding the foreign assets of Pakistanis but they have done $8 billion investment in Dubai alone,” he explained.

All the steps can be successful only with the cooperation of people, Umar added.

He said the newly elected government will create employment opportunities for youth as part of its election manifesto.

He went on to say that Karachi being the largest city and financial hub of the country is engine of the economy.

The finance minister said all out resources will be used for generation of revenue. He said our immediate focus will be on giving relief to pensioners and widows.

He ruled out the possibility that the employees of Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Steel Mills and Prime Minister House will lose their jobs.

Published in Daily Times, August 22^nd 2018.