Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday approved a social protection framework for the vulnerable segments of the society, ensuring that they were protected against certain issues affecting them.

The comprehensive social protection framework is aimed at overcoming the challenges of poverty, health, stunted growth, education and would enable the youth to realise their potential and extricate themselves out of the generational poverty traps.

Chairing a meeting of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC), the prime minister also approved the policy recommendations for a medium-term structural reform framework of the economy, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Finance Asad Umar, Minister for Planning Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Adviser to PM Dr Ishrat Hussain, former State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor Syed Saleem Raza, Lahore School of Economics (LSE) Professor Dr Naved Hamid, economist Sakib Sherani, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Associate Professor Dr Faisal Bari, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics Vice-Chancellor (VC) Dr Asad Zaman, Sustainable Development Policy Institute ED Dr Abid Qayyum Sulehri, SBP Governor Tariq Bajwa, Secretary Finance Mr Arif Ahmad Khan, IERU Advisor/Executive Director General Dr Khaqan Hassan Najeeb and other senior officials.

The meeting was briefed on the policy recommendations for mobilising finance for development, enhancing exports, strengthening SMEs, tax reforms, job creation, the impact of major policy actions and social protection priorities in Pakistan in the light of the deliberated proposals of the working groups of the EAC.

The policy recommendations were finalised to focus on acceleration of under-utilised areas, including agriculture, housing, small and medium enterprises in terms of incentives, reliance on export-oriented and labour-intensive growth, reversal of anti-export bias, enhanced system automation and use of technology, transparency in trade regime, facilitating importers, job creation through skill development, ease of doing business through business-friendly environment while focusing on productivity and moving on technology sophistication.

“Finalisation of these policies is for laying the foundation of a sustainable, inclusive, job-creating and export-oriented economic growth strategy as part of the government’s 100-day plan,” the press release added.

PAKISTAN TO SEEK $42M LOAN FROM WB FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION:

The EAC on Sunday decided to seek a loan of $42 million from the World Bank (WB) for its Poverty Alleviation Programme, according to media reports.

Reportedly, the previous government had recommended the proposal to the concerned agency of the WB and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has decided to pursue it.

The advisory council also approved to allocate Rs5 billion for Naya Pakistan Housing Programme. The said amount would be released under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).