Waqar new Finance Secy

The new Finance Secretary will have to prove his mettle. He ought to keep the budget deficit at the estimated level of 4.7 per cent of the total size of economy, which demands tough decisions of subsidies elimination. The international financial institutions will be eying the government's macroeconomic policies.

 Another difficult task for him will be to take care of Balance of Payments and arrange financing to fill the Current Account Deficit when the country's foreign exchange reserves are dipping with every passing day and foreign investors are reluctant to invest due to the security dilemma. The forex reserves have come down to US $ 9.36 billion from US $ 16.4 billion in just ten months.

A number of high-level transfers in bureaucracy have been made during the last couple of months. Abdullah Yusuf was sacked as Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Ahmad Waqar, Secretary, Board of Investment, was his successor.

The government has also appointed new head of Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), Zaka Ashraf, who will take charge of his responsibilities on Wednesday.