State of PTI 100-day agenda, 83 days after its initiation

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan’s 100 days progress tracker site run by his office says 35 tasks undertaken since August 18 when he was sworn in have been “completed” while 87 jobs have been “initiated”.

The website was created to provide an update on the state of 100 days’ agenda. A number of tasks that have been marked as “completed” will require enactment of legislation. However, not a single bill has so far either been introduced in parliament or the requisite “completed” task has been enforced through presidential ordinance in the past 83 days. But some bills have been drafted.

When contacted, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Media Iftikhar Durrani told The News that the 100-day agenda sets the strategic direction to translate the vision of the new government into reality. “The reform unit will continue to work to follow up on the initiatives delineated in the first 100 days.” He said it would be clear after 100 days where the preparation of the elaborate reform agenda actually stands. He said that amendments would be needed to the Criminal Procedure Code and Pakistan Penal Code apart from the introduction of the whistleblower law, whose draft has been finalised. He believed that there may not be need for presidential ordinances to enact laws as the bills will be introduced in parliament.

The “completed” jobs include: the prime minister’s address to civil servants; selection of provincial Inspectors General of Police (IGPs); appointment of reform lead for Punjab; housing taskforce established; Joint working group for commerce, foreign office, and finance created; federal cabinet meeting held in Quetta with local leadership; cabinet committee inaugural meeting; Federal Board of Revenue Chairman appointed; establishment of taskforce to examine and recommend improvements to National Accountability Ordinance (NAO); declaration of UK/Pakistan justice and accountability partnership; taskforce to recover unlawful wealth established and announced; taskforce and unexplained wealth unit operational; review of Pakhtunkhwa (KP) local government system with recommended improvements; civil and criminal law reforms taskforces created; appointments to key positions; national agriculture emergency working group established; legislation on private sector market participation drafted; national livestock emergency working group established; Council of Common Interests meeting on national water challenges; taskforce set up for implementation of national water policy; provincial water master plans development kicked off; former Fata reforms taskforce established; consultations with stakeholders for development of action plan on criminal justice; awareness campaign on inheritance rights launched; options on clean drinking water for Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) developed; 10 billion tree tsunami and urban tsunami launched; taskforce on tourism set up; Councils of Economic Advisers and Business Leaders appointed; China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) Working Group established; national financial inclusion strategy working group set up; and key foreign policy issues identified on which strategy needs to be reviewed by the premier.

The site dealt with six subjects, including transform governance; strengthen the Federation; revitalise economic growth; uplift agriculture and conserve water; revolutionalise social services; and ensure Pakistan’s national security.

The “initiated” tasks are: review of NAO law to recommend amendments to strengthen functioning of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB); share amendments with parliamentary parties; meeting for review of Mutual Legal Assistance Bill (MLA); finalisation of draft MLA Bill with relevant stakeholders; empower people at the grassroots; legal review of Punjab’s local government system; proposed blueprint for revamped local government system for Punjab, KP and ICT developed for review; revamped police act for KP, and draft police act developed for other provinces to present to provincial assemblies; review of civil laws to recommend amendments to achieve expeditions and adjudication of civil cases; initiate draft legislation for civil procedure and criminal law reforms; review of substantive laws and procedures in relation to issuance of letters and succession certificates; legal vetting of disability, corporal punishment and torture bill; finalisation of legislation for setting legal aid authority under the Ministry of Human Rights; civil services reform taskforce notified, first meeting held, and timeline for reform work committed; Punjab and KP agriculture policies launched; engagement with lending institutions; lending products for farmers designed and developed; markets expansion plan developed and announced; incentive plan for food processing developed and announced; Punjab and KP livestock plans developed and launched; detailed integration timeline and plan developed and publicly launched; former Fata mega development plan announced with funding from federal government committed; working group on Balochistan, including both federal and Balochistan representatives, established; reconciliation policy outlines launched with action plan developed; South Punjab province working group created; taskforce, along with a lead for the Karachi transformation plan, appointed; and poverty alleviation strategy developed.

Some more tasks “initiated” include: coordination platform established at the federal level to guide poverty alleviation efforts; introduction of Sehat Insaf Card in former Fata, ICT and Punjab; expansion of Sehat Insaf Card in KP; federal/ICT strategy on education developed and published, outlining federal role on education in line with the 18th amendment; KP and Punjab education five-year blueprints developed and released; Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) review conducted, and BISP 2.0 plan launched; action plan on criminal justice developed and execution started; consultations with stakeholders for action plan on inheritance rights with the Ministry of Human Rights; women empowerment package developed and announced with funding approved; plan for clean drinking water for ICT and provincial capitals developed and launched; restructure existing taskforces on climate change and wildlife to drive government's green growth agenda; national job creation strategy developed and unveiled; federal, KP and Punjab Technical & Vocational Education & Training/skill building strategy created; economic support package announced; national tariff policy announced; backlog of refunds and rebates cleared; Punjab and KP industrial policy developed and announced; Punjab and KP labour policy reviewed and developed; policy framework developed and launched; private sector investment framework developed; provincial tourism strategies launched including public guest house conversion plan and four new destinations proposed; FBR reform blueprint developed and launched; tax policy developed and announced; “Ease of Doing Business” strategy developed and published; process of shifting state-owned enterprises to Pakistan Wealth Fund initiated; energy taskforce notified; five-year integrated energy plan developed and published; CPEC strategy reviewed, refined and published; National Financial Inclusion Strategy implementation plan developed and announced; plan to increase deposit base of banks developed; foreign ministry reform blueprint launched; need for an additional policy coordination cell reviewed, and decision on its establishment taken; national positions and plans of action on top priority issues, and, in particular on Kashmir approved by the Prime Minister; trade roadmap launched; current national security organisation structure reviewed and options developed; all points of NAP reviewed; and implementation of revamped NAP begun.