Finance Ministry clarifies report

Islamabad : Spokesman of the Ministry of Finance here on Saturday described contents of a news report in a section of the press on reconstitution of Economic Advisory Council (EAC) as totally baseless and fabricated.

The spokesman said the EAC has been reconstituted on the basis of a regular summary submitted to the Prime Minister with due recommendation from Adviser Finance, Dr. Miftah Ismail and the proposal has been accorded formal approval. The consent of Shaukat Tareen was also sought prior to its submission and Dr. Miftah Ismail had himself convinced Shaukat Tareen to accept the position.

The first session of the reconstituted Council will be held soon, the spokesman added. The spokesman further said that the earlier Council had Dr. Ishrat Hussain as its Convener and Finance Minister was a member. The purpose of having a private sector Convener is to emphasize the Council’s role as an advisory body that enjoys freedom to recommend economic policy interventions on the basis of professional contributions of the members who are experts in their own right. The spokesman said that such baseless stories are concocted without any credible information.