ISLAMABAD, July 5: The Task Force on Economic Policy on Tuesday discussed modalities to create employment opportunities both in urban and rural areas and to sustain higher growth rate so as to improve the lot of common man.

The meeting, held here with prime minister’s adviser on finance and revenue Dr Salman Shah in the chair, was attended by Dr Alia H. Khan, Dr A. R. Kemal, Dr Junaid Ahmed, finance secretary Dr Ashfaq Hassan, Nawid Ahsan and other senior officials of the ministry of finance.

The task force was formed in November last year to provide quality input to policy formulation and its implementation in order to improve quality of economic decisions and chalk out economic strategy for overall socio-economic development of the country.

Highlighting various structural reforms and policy initiatives introduced to increase exports and rationalize tariff structure, Dr Shah asked the task force to chalk out a broad-based and comprehensive strategy to create employment opportunities through rapid economic development.

He said the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) of the government needed to be updated and advised the task force to translate the overall objective of employment generation into a comprehensive strategy that should deliver the desired dividends. “The strategy should have clear indicators, goals and appropriate baseline for each sector.”

The adviser told the task force to collect all relevant documents and data of employment in various sectors in order to suggest ways to increase the labour participation rate in the country through skill development, rural modernization and implementation of the prime minister’s concept of “one village one product”.

Dr Shah asked the task force to complete the first draft of a revised poverty reduction strategy by September 2005 and added that the final document of the national strategy should be ready by the end of this year.—APP