LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) explained its economic policy to senior journalists here on Wednesday.

Led by Asad Omer and Jehangir Tareen, the interactive session was to answer queries about the PTI’s economic strategy and its implementation.

The key issues on which debate was held included how to reduce inflation, control prices and expenditure, the population explosion, agricultural policy, controlling interest rates that have become an integral part of the banking industry.

Another issue was rural development, initiatives taken for women development and empowerment and capacity building for a huge youth population.

Mr Omer said his party’s policy was based on collecting taxes from those who have so far not been in the tax net to increase revenue and not to continue with indirect taxation.

It is determined to encourage industry and trade with incentives for small and medium enterprises as well as for the agriculture sector, initiating small industrial zones in rural areas, creating 10 million new employment opportunities in five years, increasing expenditure on education five times and on health six times.

Mr Tareen said agricultural, youth, women, health and education policies would be announced in the next few weeks.

QAYYUM: PTI leader Malik Abdul Qayyum has said that his party’s five-point emergency plan is focussed on energy, institutional reforms, expenditure curtailment, revenue collection improvement and human capital development, says a press release.

“Within this plan the crucial aspect is institutional reform. No reform agenda of any kind can be implemented without addressing the over-centralised nature of the State. The party has plans for real devolution of power to the local bodies,” it says.