The federal government has removed Finance Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal, a BS-22 civil servant, days ahead of the budget that is likely to be tabled on June 10.
According to a notification issued by the Establishment Division, Afzal will be replaced by Yusuf Khan, a BS-21 officer, who is posted as additional secretary of the finance division with immediate effect. Yusuf was working as the Benazir Income Support Programme secretary.
Meanwhile, Kamran Ali Afzal has been transferred to the Ministry of Industries and Production where he will start duties as the secretary.
According to reports, Afzal wanted to quit the finance secretary post after the appointment of Tarin as the finance minister because the latter wanted to bring his own finance team.
Last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan had sacked Hafeez Sheikh and made Shaukat Tareen the finance minister in a bid to revive the economy. Tareen is a banker who first served as finance minister from 2008 to 2010 under Yousuf Raza Gillani’s Pakistan People’s Party government.
5 PER CENT GROWTH:
Earlier this month, Tarin said that GDP growth at 3.94 per cent during the current fiscal year (2020-21) was calculated in a transparent manner, predicting that based on the current trend the economy would grow by five per cent in 2021-22 and six per cent during 2022-23.
Addressing a virtual press briefing, the minister had said that it was due to the prudent policies of the incumbent government that this growth was achieved despite tough International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions. He added that the focus of government had been on housing, agriculture and export sectors that delivered these results.
He had said that the government identified 12 sectors and formulated short, medium and long term strategies to achieve inclusive sustainable economic growth and social prosperity, with a special focus on housing, agriculture and promotion of the export industry.
He had said that the development of these sectors would not only bring sustainability to the economy but would help in achieving sustainable economic growth for the welfare of the masses.
