Shaukat Tarin says he will be chief convener for Economic Advisory Council

Former minister for finance Shaukat Tarin on Thursday said that an Economic Advisory Council is being formed and he will be its convener.

His remarks came during an appearance on Geo News show "Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath".

During the interview, Tarin expressed concern regarding the direction in which Pakistan's economy is headed.

"If the captain is not strong, the boat will not move forward," he remarked.

"We made a mistake in the beginning in the talks that we had with the IMF (International Monetary Fund)," the former minister said.

National interests must be looked at before negotiating with IMF, he added.

Tarin said that there is a great need for the government to put its house in order and once it does that, the IMF will agree to its terms.

Among other things discussed, the former finance minister, also spoke of what fuels corruption, saying that a large contributing factor is raising tariffs after not being able to meet revenue collection goals.

Speaking of the coronavirus situation in Pakistan, he acknowledged that the third wave is particularly intense and said that the council will make all decisions keeping the best interests of the people in mind.