Economic Advisory Council is a non-constitutional and independent body formed to give economic advice to the
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...
, specifically the Prime Minister.
Organizational Structure
Imran Khan ministry
The Imran Khan government was the Cabinet of Pakistan, federal cabinet of Pakistan from 20 August 2018 to 10 April 2022. It was formed by Imran Khan following 2018 Pakistani general election, general elections on 25 July 2018, which saw the Pakis ...
In August 2021, the new government of Prime Minister
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...
reconstituted the council with the following members formed by the Prime Minister on Ministry of Finance recommendations for the Finance division under its Implementations and Economic Reforms Unit:
Among the members several retained their positions in Council from previous government, three members of the council belongs to non-economics background, and seven are ex or current office holder members including Asad Umar, on whose recommendations Council is formed.
Council was also criticised for the lack of female representation.
Resigned members
* Dr
Atif Mian - Professor at
Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance
The Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance (JRC) is a research center at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) of Princeton University. Founded in 20 ...
of
Woodrow Wilson School at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
.
* Dr Asim Ijaz Khwaja - Sumitomo-FASID Professor of International Finance and Development at the
Harvard Kennedy School
The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
.
* Dr Imran Rasul - Professor of Economics, Department of Economics,
University College, London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
.
Inclusion of renowned economist
Atif Mian resulted in a controversy when former Deputy Speaker of
Sindh Assembly Shehla Raza's social media team tweeted a racial and religious tweet against Mian, who belongs to
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...
faith. However, she later apologized after receiving severe backlash. Previously Khan, himself was under backlash for naming Mian as his cabinet's Finance Minister, but he withdraw Mian's name saying he did not know that he belonged to Ahmadiyya community. Initially, PTI has supported its decision on Mian's inclusion in Council. However after days of biased social media criticism from extremist religious groups, senator
Faisal Javed Khan announced on 7 September 2018 in a tweet that, "Atif Mian was asked to step down from the Advisory Council and he has agreed. A replacement would be announced later."
On 7 September 2018, Dr Khwaja resigned from the EAC protesting the government's decision to withdraw the nomination of Dr Mian. On 8 September 2018, Dr Rasul became the second EAC member who resigned in protest over Dr Mian's removal.
See also
*
Economic Coordination Committee (Pakistan)
References
{{Economy of Pakistan topics
Economy of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan