Budget preparation for next fiscal year begins, announces Shaukat Tarin  

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Monday announced that the process to prepare the federal budget for the next fiscal year 2021-22 has begun, ARY NEWS reported.

He made these remarks after assuming charge of the finance ministry on Monday.

“I have received briefings from the finance ministry on budget and we will be including various projects in it needed for the improvement of the economy,” Tarin said adding that soon he would share his priorities in the budget with the media.

The finance minister said that it was his first day in the finance ministry after 11 years and took briefings on the working of the ministry for two hours.

Earlier in the day, Shaukat Tarin took charge of his responsibilities as finance minister after he visited the ministry and met with the senior officials.

Shaukat Tarin was introduced with the finance ministry officials as he hoped that they would jointly work as a team to run the affairs in a smooth manner.

According to a report, Shaukat Tarin met Prime Minister Imran Khan before his elevation to the ministerial post as the latter expressed his confidence in Tarin’s abilities to deal with economic issues.

Imran Khan said during the conversation that he knew Tarin for the past 35 years as he had remained part of the board of governors of the Shaukat Khanum Hospital.

“Shaukat Tarin will work in an organized manner for bringing further stability,” the premier said.

Speaking on the occasion, the incumbent finance minister said that they had to bring the GDP growth to six to seven percent in order to address the economic woes of the country.

When asked regarding any plans to remove the governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Shaukat Tarin said there are no chances of his removal as he had brought exemplary reforms in the system.