‘Foreign talent to replace unskilled Pak officials’

PAKISTAN’S CABINET has relaxed rules to hire foreign consultancy firms to make up for ‘unskilled' bureaucrats and speed up official efforts to bring investment for various projects in the cash-strapped country from the Gulf and other nations, according to a media report.

The decision was taken to support the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the top civil-military body created last year to bring investment into the country. According to The Express Tribune, the Cabinet relaxed the public procurement legal framework to hire foreign consultancy firms to strengthen the SIFC to prepare various projects before offering them to foreign investors.

“The foreign consultancy firms will be hired for five years as a replacement for Pakistani bureaucrats who are found lacking in project planning and execution, according to government sources,” the paper reported.

However, the decision will reflect poorly on the working of the bureaucracy, which could not providequality assistance to the sifc. The Cabinet has approved a summary through circulation on the advice of the SIFC, which recommended granting exemption due to the poor capacity of Pakistan’s federal bureaucracy, confirmed a senior government official Saturday. Sources said that due to an incapacitated bureaucracy, Pakistan was struggling to prepare projects for investment by Saudi Arabia, the UK and Kuwait.

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was on Sunday appointed as the country’s Deputy Prime Minister. According to the Cabinet Division, the appointment was made by PM Shehbaz Sharif. The move came when both of them were attending a World Economic Forum moot in Riyadh.