Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated on Thursday that the government was poised to make tough economic decisions to navigate the country out of crisis, while assuring to safeguard the interests of the downtrodden segments of society.

The premier was addressing a meeting of the apex committee of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), attended by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, Army Chief General Asim Munir and other relevant officials from across the country.

PM Shehbaz stated that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had concluded the review for the issuance of the last tranche of $1.1 billion, which was anticipated to be received by next month.

He said that the burden of these measures would primarily fall on the wealthy and elite, with safeguards in place to protect the interests of the poor and vulnerable.

The premier stated that Pakistan aimed to initiate another programme with the IMF for a period of three years, during which the government would undertake strict measures to implement deep-rooted structural reforms in the country.

“With these reforms, we will gradually break the begging bowl and emerge from the debt trap,” he added.

The prime minister called for the support of all political parties and provincial governments to successfully implement the agenda of macroeconomic stability in the country.

He underscored the necessity of collaboration, stating, “For this, we will have to work together. With the support of all the provinces, we will collectively resolve all the challenges and difficulties faced by the country.”

Shehbaz highlighted the significance of the presence of chief ministers of all provincial governments, the army chief and other relevant officials from across the country, conveying a clear message to the nation that they had assembled for the cause of the country’s development, prosperity and integrity.

He mentioned that the SIFC was established in June 2023 to eliminate bottlenecks in the investment process, and since then, nine meetings of the apex committee had been convened, along with more than 200 relevant meetings. Consequently, numerous important decisions had been taken and implemented under the Council’s auspices.

The premier noted that when the PDM government assumed office in 2022, Pakistan was on the brink of bankruptcy, but all coalition partners decided to save the country from default by putting their politics at stake.

Shehbaz lamented the drain of a significant portion of the country’s resources due to corruption, saying that while this year’s tax collection target was Rs9 trillion, its potential exceeded Rs1.3 trillion.

Similarly, he added, tax cases worth Rs2.7 trillion were pending resolution in tribunals or courts, which needed urgent attention.

PM Shehbaz highlighted that annual power theft in the country amounted to around Rs400 billion, while the combined circular debt of electricity and gas surpassed Rs5 trillion.

Regarding the achievements of the interim government under the SIFC, the premier stated that due to measures against power theft, the caretaker setup saved Rs87 billion.

Strict measures were also implemented to curb smuggling and introduce reforms in the land information system, he noted, while adding that the privatisation process of Heavy Mechanical Complex (HMC) was successfully concluded.

PM Shehbaz accentuated the substantial losses incurred annually by state-owned enterprises, citing the example of PIA, which alone owed debts worth Rs825 billion.

Likewise, he said, the interim government signed several significant agreements with different countries to attract investment, including a $10 billion agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).