ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan constituted on Friday 18-member high-level Economic Advisory Council to ‘ensure that the best possible professional advice is available to the government to inform, optimise and synergise the formulation and implementation of its economic and financial policies’.
According to an official press release, the council comprises some of the most ‘erudite and well-respected experts, academics and practitioners of the field who are currently serving in, or have rich experience with, amongst the most advanced academic institutions and other specialised organisations in Pakistan and abroad’.
PM Imran will himself chair the advisory council.
On the recommendations of the Ministry of Finance, the prime minister has approved the following private sector members for the Economic Advisory Council:
1. Dr. Farrukh Iqbal Dean & Director, Institute of Business Administration (IBA)
2. Dr. Ashfaque Hassan Khan Principal and Dean, School of Social Sciences & Humanities, National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST)
3. Dr. Ijaz Nabi Chairman, Consortium for Development Policy Research & Former Professor and Dean, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
4. Dr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
5. Dr. Asad Zaman Vice Chancellor of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE)
6. Dr. Naved Hamid Professor of Economics at the Lahore School of Economics (LSE)
7. Syed Salim Raza Former Governor of State Bank of Pakistan
8. Mr. Sakib Sherani Economist
9. Dr. Atif R.Mian Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University (Department of Economics and Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy)
10. Dr. Asim Ijaz Khawaja Sumitomo – FASID Professor of International Finance and Development at the Harvard Kennedy School
11. Dr. Imran Rasul Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, University College, London
In addition to private sector members, the following will be the official members of the Economic Advisory Council:
1. Minister for Finance, Revenue & Economic Affairs
2. Minister for Planning Development and Reforms Division
3. Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission
4. Governor, State Bank of Pakistan
5. Adviser on Institutional Reforms
6. Adviser on Commerce
7. Secretary, Finance Division (Secretary of the Council)
The advisory council will meet at least once a month and its mandate will be ‘to advise the government on both short-term macroeconomic stabilisation interventions and long-term structural reforms for stable and sustained economic development’.
It will also facilitate capacity building of the Government in conducting policy analysis and will assist in reaching out to the international network of recognised economists to contribute to Pakistan’s development.