Prime Minister Imran Khan has been named “Man of the Year 2020” by The Muslim 500, a Jordanian annual publication which ranks the most influential Muslims.
Published by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan, the 11th issue of The Muslim 500: The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims 2020, honoured Prime Minister Khan mainly for his quest for lasting peace with India since he assumed power in 2018.
The publication highlighted his efforts to normalise ties with India and avoid confrontation, in particular over Kashmir.
It said that there is a certain and perhaps necessary apparent naiveté to Khan’s efforts for a lasting peace, as demonstrated in India’s move in August last year to impose a military curfew in the Indian-administered Kashmir, and arrest of thousands of Kashmiris.
The prime minister has meanwhile stated that the country’s economy is on the right track.
In his tweets yesterday, he said that the nation’s current account balance swung upwards to a surplus of $424mn in July this year.
This, he said, was after the current account balance posted a deficit of $613mn in July last year and a deficit of $100mn in June this year.
The prime minister said that this strong turnaround is a result of continuing recovery in exports, which rose 20% compared to the month of June, and record remittances.
He also expressed the resolve to serve the people through the agenda of national development.
In a Facebook post, he said the government is focusing on four priority areas to expedite development process: increasing exports, use of legal channels for remittances, foreign investment, and curbing money laundering.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister Office has directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to reopen 565 complaints registered at the Pakistan Citizen Portal and ensure their resolution on merit.
The Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU) has received a report regarding the performance of FBR officials.
According to the report, strict warnings have been issued to 10 senior FBR officials over their poor performance.
The officials have been directed to improve their performance regarding the resolution of public complaints.
The report indicated that strict action will be initiated in case the public complaints are not addressed in a satisfactory manner.
Earlier, the FBR intensified action against irregularity, corruption, and inefficiency, and suspended 10 more officers.
The suspended Customs officers were seven Inspectors, two superintendents, and one appraising officer.
Since July, 36 officers and 19 officials have been suspended and three employees have been dismissed.
Furthermore, an Integrity and Performance Management Unit (IPMU) has been established in the FBR to address the complaints of the taxpayers against any employee.