Ishaq Dar briefs President Alvi on the steps taken by govt to provide relief to the most vulnerable segments of society
ISLAMABAD, Dec 07, (SABAH): Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, called on President Dr Arif Alvi, at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the Federal Finance Minister briefed the President on the overall economic situation of the country, and the steps taken by the government to provide relief to the most vulnerable segments of society.
Various matters concerning finance, economy and rehabilitation of flood affectees were also discussed during the meeting.
Meanwhile according to the sources of Ishaq Dar held a meeting with President Dr. Arif Alvi to discuss the ongoing political situation in the country including the dissolution of assemblies and implementation of International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) agreement.
The incumbent coalition government and the Opposition have been holding talks regarding the date of general elections and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s claim of dissolving the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.
According to the sources, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader talked about political and economic matters. Moreover, the dissolution of provincial assemblies and resignations also came under discussion, said the sources.
Both leaders also talked about the next general elections in the country, said the sources, adding that they also discussed KP and the Punjab government’s cooperation concerning the reduction in import bills.
The sources added that the finance minister asked for the Opposition’s support regarding the implementation of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) agreement.
The PML-N leader and President Alvi also held discussions regarding PTI’s cooperation in bringing political stability to the country. They added that the president also assured Ishaq Dar of talking to the PTI leadership concerning all these matters.
The leaders also considered the matter regarding the closure of markets at 6pm countrywide, as per the sources.
During the meeting, the president conveyed that the PTI sought early election, a key demand being made the party since ouster of its party chief Imran Khan as prime minister in April last. The meeting between the president and finance minister continued for 20 minutes.
Prior to this Ishaq Dar has already held two meetings with President Dr. Arif Alvi.
Meanwhile President Dr. Arif Alvi has said that the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC), being the top examining authority of the country, should be perfect and should match the world standards in terms of its members’ skill set, examination and selection procedures, and methods of conducting interviews for the selection of suitable candidates for recruitment to posts in government departments. He called for bringing qualitative improvements in the Civil Service by ensuring the selection of the right person for the right job, and timely updating the method and mode of examination for recruitment to various posts.
President Dr. Arif Alvi gave these remarks during a meeting with the Chairman of the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC), Captain (retd) Zahid Saeed, who called on him to present the Annual Report 2021 of FPSC, at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Wednesday. Secretary FPSC, Syed Hasnain Mehdi, and senior officials of the Establishment Division and President’s Secretariat attended the meeting.
During the meeting, the President said that for the interviews, standard questions should be selected and evaluated, and the response of the interviewer should be calibrated and quantified on a statistical and scientific basis. He added that these methods should be continuously improved upon by benchmarking best practices around the world, using technology to rule out biases, and seeking external help to evaluate the examination and selection criteria.
He said that the FPSC should hire a consultant with excellent repute and relevant experience to help the FPSC to evaluate its examination and selection criteria, identify the improvements needed, and recommend solutions to bring it on par with the best selection and recruiting agencies of the world.
The President said that the recruitment process should be made more efficient and transparent by incorporating the latest Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools. He said that FPSC, being the top-examining body, should make efforts to improve the availability of quality human resources for the government by bringing improvements and updating the selection process at par with world standards.
The President further said that processes for making high-level selection and recruitment have to be improved continuously by using sophisticated examination and interviewing techniques to ensure that the candidates match the required criteria and that their efficiency and productivity was up to the mark.
He also expressed concern over the non-fulfilment of posts reserved in quota for minorities, women quota in rural Sindh, and quota for Balochistan, adding that such posts should be filled on a priority basis, without compromising on standards, the integrity of the selection process, and the quality of the candidates.
Chairman FPSC presented the Annual Report 2021 of the Commission and informed that last year, FPSC conducted national-level exams smoothly, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and observed the relevant SOPs. He further highlighted that under General Recruitment, FPSC received 509,955 applications during 2021, and recommended 2161 candidates for appointment against different posts.
He said that in 2021, FPSC received 39,650 applications for the CSS Competitive Examination 2021, in which 17,240 candidates appeared, whereas 365 candidates qualified for the written part of the exam. He added that FPSC also conducted the first-ever Multiple-Choice Questions Based Preliminary Test (MPT) for CSS candidates, in which 61,725 applications were received.