Economic Committee MP2014

The Pakistani economy faced extraordinary challenges due to the

global fnancial crisis that has plagued the world economy since 2008.
The country is currently trapped in a trajectory of low growth combined
with high ination due to incompetence! poor go"ernance and high
le"els of corruption. The PPP led go"ernment was not able to tackle
these issues and made the economy stagnant. #n terms of $%P growth!
this has been the worst f"e years period in the entire history of
Pakistan with a dismal annual a"erage growth of 2.&'. #n terms of
ination! only once in Pakistan(s history! we ha"e witnessed a worse
double digit inationary spell than the present tenure and that was in
PPP(s frst go"ernment from )&*2 to )&**. This lethal combination of
low growth and high ination has led to a massi"e increase in po"erty
and unemployment. The elected go"ernment of 20)+ promised
economic reforms "arying from macro economic stability to re"i"al of
confdence of small businesses. The committee will scrutini,e the
policies adopted and try not to dwell on the past and hence reach a
solution which will be much more adapti"e to the pre"ailing
circumstances. The discussion will re"ol"e around the topics of-
Military budget- %efense budget was jacked up to .s*00. 2 billion
for the 20)/0)1 fscal year! compared with .s 22*.2 billion allocated in
the outgoing fscal year! it showed an increase of .s *+ billion.The
constant increase in the defense budget gi"es people the right that
why Pakistan is nor in"esting more in departments the economy lack
for. 3or example! education! health! etc. Participants will be facilitated
with facts and fgures and will be encouraged to debate on the
fnancial e4uation of 5arb0e06,b! 7arachi 8peration and 9alochistan
peace making process.
Privatization + Nationalization- :ince the Pakistan operates
on the principles of a mixed economy! the capital belongs to both
pri"ate and state ownership. Participants are expected to speak on the
issues that whether the plan that! once! was implemented by :haukat
6,i, of rapid pri"ati,ation is better or the country should adopt a more
socialist approach like ;hina! considering the fact that how ;hina still
obtains a dominating share in the market after the global fnancial
crisis of 200*008! and is en"isioned by some economist as the largest
operating economy by 2021.
IDPs Issue and lood !"ectees- The issue of #%Ps rose after
the declaration of a military operation and since then the go"ernment
has been targeted by PT# for not pro"iding enough funds to
accommodate them in 7P7. The discussion will be around what is the
immediate plan and what measures will be taken by the go"ernment in
their next year budget to create opportunities.
3loods ha"e destructed Pakistan twice not once in last 1 years and
ha"e immensely burdened the economy. Participants will be
encouraged to 4uestion the go"ernment that why was not a plan
introduced to counter oods after knowing the aftermath of 20)0
oods. 6lso! what plans are a"ailable to help the a<ectees and how the
go"ernment can get the other parties on board.
Develo#ment o$ %aloc&istan- The pro"ince of 9alochistan has
faced constant economic depri"ation. To such a large extent!that the
9alochis started asking for independence. This session will include the
promises made to 9alochis by the go"ernment before coming into
power. Participants are expected to comment on the budget details
related to 9alochistan and present economic solutions which would
make 9alochistan a more pluralistic pro"ince. =oreo"er! re"iews o"er
Paksitan 2021 Programe will also be included.
Increasing Debt- 8n )+
th
8ctober 20)/! the fnance minister #sha4
%ar released an o>cial statement that #=3 will be lending ).)b ? the
upcoming year! since the international organi,ation belie"es that the
economic reforms are back on track. The debate will be whether it(s in
the best interest of Pakistan! in the long run! to borrow more or not as
the PT# chief has constantly targeted the incumbent go"ernment on
borrowing more.
In'ation + De'ation issues- @ith an ination rate of *.2' as of
:eptember 20)/! ination is becoming a headache for a common man.
@ith a $:T of )2 it further deteriorates the purchasing power of the
people. This session will include the general economic performance of
the go"ernment in the past year. 6nd what sort of tax policy should be
adopted by the go"ernment in the budget of 20)10)2.
Energy Crisis- Pakistan is passing through energy crises which were
ne"er witnessed in the history before. The need to produce or exploit
more can be classifed as an economic problem. The parliamentarians
will be facilitated with the past policies adopted since 2008 and are
expected to pro"ide an immediate solution that can be implemented.
6lso! the parliamentarians who made &00daysA2years promises will be
held accountable.
Civil Disobedience- The mo"ement started by the PT# chief! when
Bawa, :harif refused to resign certainly had a negati"e impact on the
economy. %espite the PT# chief claiming that it did not damage the
economy much! it could be argued that it was a deliberate attempt
aiming to seek international media attention by damaging the
economy. The debate will re"ol"e around the 4uestion that who is
going to make up for the loss and what is to be done to stop the
derailment of economy.

Personalities important for Economic committee:
7hurram %astagir 7han
=r. 6hsan #4bal
#sha4 %ar
Ba"eedCamar
Par"e,7hattak
=urad :aeed
6sad Dmar
6bdul .ashid $odil
=olana :iraj0ul0Ea4
6bid :her 6li
7hawja 6sif
:ad .af4ue
E(#ectations) The future parliamentarians are expected to
research their party stance "ery well and try to be as unambiguous as
possible while debating and try to refrain from what they actually think
about the party or the personality assigned. The facilitators will try to
educate about economics as much as possible and can be approached
anytime. Participants will be pro"ided with all the facts and fgures.
The e<ort of Parliamentarians will be acknowledged in drafting bills!
reaching a more cooperati"e and pragmatic economic solutions. 6lso!
humor is highly encouragedF Bo juggatien.