15 October 2004	Friday	29 Shaban 1425

ISLAMABAD, Oct 14: A special group, constituted by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz under the chairmanship of his adviser on finance Dr Salman Shah, has finalized a preliminary framework to attract investment , alleviate poverty and create new job opportunities in the country.

Informed sources told Dawn here on Thursday that in the first place the group had proposed the abolition of a number of existing legal and regulatory frameworks that were discouraging local and foreign investment.

The special group, having official and unofficial members, is expected to hold its last meeting shortly so as to submit its final recommendations to the prime minister before the end of this month to address a number of issues relating to poverty, employment generation and investment, especially the foreign direct investment (FDI).

The group, the sources said, had called for withdrawing some SROs which were also blocking foreign investment. Few of the proposals related to removing or readjusting duties and tariff structure in order to lure local and foreign investors.

For alleviating poverty, the group has proposed the revival of Khushhal Pakistan Programme particularly in rural areas. Under the programme new development projects would be undertaken besides extending free cash funding and soft-term loaning other than Khushhali Bank's initiatives meant for removing poverty and creating new job opportunities.

These measures, the sources said, would be announced by the prime minister in his address to the nation, which was earlier planned to be made before the start of Ramazan.

"There are no quick fixes that are being proposed to the government but certainly our group is formulating short-, medium- and long-term recommendations to address the specific issues concerning investment, poverty and employment generation," said a member of the group.

He said that some of the members of the special group, mostly politicians, were suggesting ad hoc measures to deal with these issues with a view to getting some political mileage. "But the prime minister had told us in the last meeting that he does no want any gimmick but would like to have only sustainable recommendations so that the fruits of improved economy could reach to a common man," he said.

He said that one of the major recommendations of the group was the building of new infrastructure in smaller cities aimed at reducing poverty and creating new job opportunities across Pakistan.

The prime minister, he said, would be updated on the preliminary recommendations of the group. "But he (PM) needs to allocate more time to economy rather than addressing political issues which can be handled by President Musharraf and PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain," he added.