The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs chairman, Asad Umar, on Monday said that the bailout agreement reached between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be presented before parliament.
Speaking to members of the committee after his appointment, Asad Umar said the government had to take practical measures in order to reach an agreement and therefore “the government should be questioned regarding this accord”.
The former minister also vowed to inform the public about the discussions he had with the IMF regarding the programme before his ouster. “What discussions were held with the IMF [and] what we have achieved through the programme […] I will tell the nation about this,” he said.
Earlier, the NA Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, in a meeting in the Parliament House, unanimously elected Asad Umar as its chairman. The National Assembly Secretariat’s special secretary welcomed the members and briefed them on the procedure for election of the chairman.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmaker Syed Naveed Qamar proposed the name of Asad Umar as chairman of the committee, while the ruling party’s Sardar Nasrullah Khan Dreshak seconded his candidature, resulting in Asad Umar’s unanimous election.
The special secretary congratulated the newly elected chairman on behalf of the NA speaker and secretary, and assured him of full support from the NA Secretariat for effective and efficient functioning of the committee.
The chairman expressed his gratitude to the members for posing confidence in him and assured them of running the business of the committee with consensus.
The members, while appreciating views of the chairman, assured him of their full support in the process of legislation.
The meeting was attended by MNAs Raza Nasrullah, Faiz Ullah, Makhdoom Syed Samiul Hassan Gillani, Sardar Nasrullah Khan Dreshak, Faheem Khan, Aftab Hussain Siddique, Muhammad Israr Tareen, Ali Pervaiz, Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Nafisa Shah, Syed Naveed Qamar and Hina Rabbani Khar, besides senior officers of the NA Secretariat.