ISLAMABAD, May 7: The two-day Formation Commanders Conference, which concluded on Tuesday at the General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi, discussed at length the current economic situation and expressed satisfaction over it.

It also discussed the prevailing geo-political situation and threat perceptions in the region with special reference to the continued deployment of Pakistani and Indian troops on borders.

The conference presided over by President Gen Pervez Musharraf was extensively briefed and updated by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz on the present state of economy and future prospects.

According to ISPR, the minister informed the participants about various economic problems that Pakistan faced in Oct 1999, and how after due deliberations a strategy was evolved to rescue the country from a near financial collapse situation.

Giving details, Shaukat Aziz said that the previous governments had brought Pakistan to a point where the country was considered a pariah state, where there was corruption, bad governance, no credibility, no investor confidence, a high level of debt, inflation in double figures and where poverty had doubled from 18 to 36 per cent of the population.

The massive task to revive Pakistan economically, he pointed out, needed to improve the macroeconomic situation, revive growth, increase investment and improve governance.

The strategy put in place required the economy to be stabilized and structural reforms initiated to get Pakistan to regain its economic sovereignty.

The finance minister claimed that due to fiscal discipline adhered to by the government, the first major objective of economic stability had been achieved. He pointed out that despite a severe drought for the third year running (lowest water level ever in rivers), the shock of Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the global economic slowdown, Pakistan’s economy had shown great resilience.

Explaining the present state of the economy, Shaukat Aziz said that Pakistan had a long way to go but as of today foreign exchange reserves stood at over $5.3 billion and that there was a current account surplus.

Similarly, rupee/dollar exchange rate had appreciated and Pakistan successfully achieved the re-profiling of debt of $12.5 billion from the Paris Club which meant a 27 per cent reduction of the amount.

He said foreign remittances had increased by 100 per cent and were nearing the $2 billion mark and the inflation had been contained to three per cent annually. Stock market has evidenced foreign investment coming in and credit rating has improved and that Pakistan’s debt strategy had succeeded and now export and imports were also picking up.

Later, during an exclusive session, the participants discussed suggestions forwarded by various formations for further improvement of existing training and administrative procedures of the army.

President Musharraf gave away Chief of Army Staff Sports Trophy to Lahore Corps, while the best Regimental Training Centre Trophy went to the Punjab Regimental Centre, Mardan. At the end, the president and participants of the conference witnessed a weapon and equipment display.