October 19, 2008	Sunday	Shawwal 19, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Oct 18: An advisory panel comprising some of the country’s top economists submitted to the government on Saturday an interim report that suggested home-grown solutions for the current economic problems.

The report — entitled “Economic Stabilisation with a Human Face” and submitted to Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission M. Salman Faruqui — suggests a number of measures to protect the poor from inflation.

The panel comprising leading economists, many of whom have worked for international multilateral institutions, is headed by Dr Hafiz Pasha, former Advisor on Finance. PIDE Vice-Chancellor and Chief Economist Dr Rashid Amjad is the convener of the panel.

The report recommends realistic GDP targets and a number of steps to improve the health of the economy. It proposes a number of actionable programmes and policies to restore macroeconomic balance and protect the poor and vulnerable segments of society.

The report recommends belt tightening in government’s current and development expenditure and raising additional resources through appropriate taxation measures.A number of steps have been suggested to reduce the trade gap by removing anti-export bias in the current trade regime and enhancing regional trade. The report calls for enhancing trade relations with India.

A reduction in non-essential imports, restoration of macroeconomic balance with social protection interventions, initiation of an employment guarantee scheme in poor districts and increase in microfinance outreach and housing projects for the poor have also been proposed.

The report expresses the hope of a quick economic recovery if a sharp stabilisation is put in place, not in a piecemeal way, but as an integrated package. It also suggests measures to increase agriculture output.

The panel is expected to make a presentation to the prime minister.