Islamabad, Mar 17 (ANI): The three major coalition partners of the to-be-formed federal government in Pakistan, namely the PPP, the PML-N and the ANP, are said to be devising their future strategy to tackle major economic issues and take practical steps to control the ongoing inflationary trend.

If a prominent official from one of these parties is to be believed, the three parties have agreed to continue the privatisation process and also to take short-term and long-term steps to ensure a quantum leap for boosting the dwindling exports and to avoid fiscal and external vulnerabilities.

The economic wizards of the three parties are also discussing steps to control the yawning trade deficit by minimising the imports of luxury items, he said.

“Yes, all the three parties, including the PPP, PML-N and ANP, are evolving a consensus namely the minimum common agenda, which includes achieving improved macro-economic situation and controlling the galloping prices, especially of food items,” The News quoted the person, said to be involved in the consensus-building exercise, as saying.

He further said that the future coalition also agreed to refrain from further burdening the masses by jacking up the POL prices, at least, in the remaining three months of the current fiscal year.

The official said another challenge for the next government would be the consistent cash-bleeding of major public sector institutions such as Wapda, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) etc as these two institutions were going to cause losses to the national kitty of over Rs 100 billion in the current financial year.

According to the paper, Pakistan’s economy is facing numerous challenges, including twin deficits - current account deficit and fiscal deficit - as well as stagnant exports, tax revenues and almost a halted privatisation process. Inflation is another big challenge for the upcoming economic managers and improving the supply side coupled with better management can reduce woes on this front.

The coalition partners are working out a strategy for tackling difficult and complex issues, keeping in view their own manifestos and striving hard to evolve a consensus among the ruling coalition partners.

Official sources in the countrys federal Finance Ministry said that the economy could not be put back on the track without bringing our house in order. According to them, the pattern of the 90s could not be followed to run this huge economy on which international investors had invested their money by subscribing to bonds issued by Islamabad. ( ANI)