Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a “deep surgery” is required to pull the cash-strapped country out of the economic crisis and urged his Cabinet members to either “perform or perish”. The prime minister inducted 19 members into his Cabinet earlier in the day, ending the tenuous wait for the completion of government formation in the country.
Addressing the maiden cabinet meeting, Shehbaz said Pakistan is facing massive challenges and a “deep surgery” is required to pull the country out of the economic crisis. Taking stock of the issues and problems affecting the economy and the country, the prime minister asked his Cabinet members to “perform or perish”, saying that the time is “now or never”.
Shehbaz said the government should take difficult decisions and that too without wasting any time. “Deep surgery is needed as antibiotics will not work,” he said. Shehbaz said bringing inflation under control is the biggest challenge, however, the government together with the provincial administrations would consider ways how to manage the prices of the essentials.
“This is our first test,” he said. Shehbaz also indicated likely privatization of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on a priority basis as the national flag carrier was causing more than Rs 850 billion annual losses to the government.
The premier said taking up the federal ministries was not a matter of dividing ministries among each other but for a united cause. Newly-elected President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath to 19 members of the Cabinet at a ceremony held in the President’s House and was attended by former Prime Minister Sharif among others.
Those who took oath included Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Azam Tarar, Rana Tanvir, Mohsin Naqvi, Ahad Cheema, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Riaz Prizada, Qaiser Sheikh, Shaza Fatima, Aleem Khan, Jam Kamal, Amir Muqam, Awais Leghari, Atta Tarar, Salik Hussian and Musaddiq Malik.
Ex-JPMorgan banker is Pakistan’s new finance minister
Muhammad Aurangzeb, 59, was appointed to the position, the Finance Ministry confirmed in a post on X. He earlier stepped down as chief executive officer of Pakistan’s biggest bank by deposits — Habib Bank Ltd.
The new finance minister’s most pressing challenge would be to secure at least $6 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund to tide over the economy, which has been battered by surging inflation and slowing growth. Aurangzeb was chosen over other possible candidates, including longtime Sharif ally Ishaq Dar and ex-central bank governor Shamshad Akhtar. His appointment suggests Sharif wants technocrats to help fix the country, which narrowly avoided a sovereign default last year.
A former CEO with JP Morgan’s Global Corporate Bank in Singapore, Aurangzeb is a seasoned banker who has headed Habib Bank for the past six years. He said last year any new government would have to address structural benchmarks set by the IMF to move the economy to growth mode.
Despite the new appointment, some observers remain pessimistic. “Even if you bring legendary people like Larry Summers or Rubin, they can’t do anything,” said Nadeem Ul Haque, a former economist with the IMF. “We have deep, deep problems in the economy and society that need to be fixed. Changing people or the IMF program is just window dressing.”
