Policy Unit
IMRAN KHAN’S FIRST 100 DAYS AGENDA
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Election Management Cell
INTRODUCTION
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THE THEMES
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THEME 1: TRANSFORM GOVERNANCE
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THEME 2: STRENGTHEN THE FEDERATION
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THEME 3: REVITALISE ECONOMIC GROWTH
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THEME 4: UPLIFT AGRICULTURE AND CONSERVE WATER
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THEME 5: REVOLUTIONISE SOCIAL SERVICES
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THEME 6: ENSURE PAKISTAN’S NATIONAL SECURITY
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ENSURING IMPLEMENTATION
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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1
INTRODUCTION
In 1947, when Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah achieved the dream of an independent Pakistan, the most valuable currency in this nascent nation was hope. Pakistan was meant to be a model Muslim country, and one of the greatest nations of the world. world. 71 years have passed, and yet the story of Pakistan’s progress to-date to-date can best be described as only incremental. We may have built a metro here and a motorway there, but we have not yet built the nation that the Quaid dreamt of. Despite having an abundance of talent and potential, Pakistan has yet to really take off. The responsibility for this must lie with those who have led us. However, we, the people, must also accept some of the responsibility as it is we who have elected these leaders again and again. In the 2018 elections, the people of Pakistan face a choice. Do we want more of the same, or do we finally want to build that country that we can feel proud to leave to our children? We have always been a hopeful nation, but we must now realise that even hope has a time limit. The time to transform Pakistan is now. This is a leadership challenge, and one that we believe can only be entrusted to Imran Khan in 2018. 2018. The medium pacer who became the world’s fastest bowler b owler and best ever all-rounder; The captain who transformed an ordinary team into world champions; the the dreamer who became Pakistan’s most passionate passionate philanthropist; and the visionary who shed blood, toil, tears and sweat in a struggle of over 22 years, to transform the face of politics in Pakistan. Imran Khan is indeed ready to transform Pakistan. He has the aspiration and Pakistan into a reality. He has the determination to translate the vision of Quaid’s Quaid’s Pakistan courage to take difficult decisions. He has a team that that we all can trust. And he has a bold, clear, and ambitious plan. At the core of Imran Khan’s plan is this First 100 Days Agenda. Agenda. The agenda is both aggressive, aggressive , like Imran Khan’s bowling, and aspirational, like his leadership. It cannot be anything else. Pakistan has so many challenges to address after decades of misrule, that we have to be ready to hit the ground running. From Day One.
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The First 100 Days Agenda consists of six themes, and each theme consists of a set of commitments that the new PTI government will start working on, and show visible progress on, within the first 100 Days of Imran Khan taking charge. This summary document introduces each of the themes, and lays down all of the commitments within each. Of course, completing the agenda will take longer, but as Imran Khan himself says, within 100 days, we must prove to the entire country that we mean business, and we must irreversibly change the direction that this country is heading towards. That is both a challenge, and a commitment
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“It is these principles of justice ju stice and egalitarianism that Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, envisaged for the country: this vision served as my inspiration for Naya Pakistan.
For PTI, it is not just “politics”: it is a commitment to building a welfare state where the rule of law, meritocracy and transparency are guaranteed to all of our citizens...” citizens...” -Imran Khan
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THE THEMES
Imran Khan’s First 100 Days Agenda is embodied in six key themes. These themes are critical to the development of Pakistan, and core to Imran Khan and PTI’s agenda for the for the 2018 Elections. They also encapsulate Imran Khan’s vision of a Pakistan that we can all be proud of. The six themes are: 1. Transform Governance 2. Strengthen the Federation 3. Revitalise Economic Growth 4. Uplift Agriculture and Conserve Water 5. Revolutionise Social Services 6. Ensure Pakistan’s National Security The rest of this document introduces each of the themes and outlines the individual commitments within each of these themes, on which work will begin within the first 100 Days of a PTI Government. More detail on each point as well as other elements of PTI’s plan for government will be released in our Manifesto, and in documents covering individual policies. We are keen to hear your views and your feedback, as our team continues to work on detailed plans on each theme. This is only the beginning.
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THEME 1: TRANSFORM GOVERNANCE
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THEME 1: TRANSFORM GOVERNANCE
At the core of Imran Khan and PTI’s first 100 Days agenda is to transform government and governance. Government must look very different to the way it does today. Government must be able to govern. Imran Khan will make this happen. We will build institutions of state that can act boldly, credibly, capably, independently and swiftly. We will devolve government to the villages and towns of Pakistan. We will improve how government performs by ensuring blind, across the board accountability. We will reform the civil services, the judicial system and the police. Overall, within the first 100 days of PTI government, we will work on f ive key areas to transform governance.
1. Bring accountability to the centre of government: Ensure full autonomy for NAB, and establish a special task force to recover looted national wealth parked in offshore tax havens. Recovered wealth will be used on poverty alleviation programmes and for national debt reduction. 2. Empower people at the grassroots: Announce plan to roll out upgraded version of KP’s local government system; with powers and resources devolved down to the village level. 3. Depoliticise and strengthen Police: Police: Immediately appoint competent, professional and reputable Inspector Generals (IGs) in each province to lead depoliticisation of police by building upon KP’s successful police reform model. 4. Revolutionalise
access
to
justice:
Launch PTI’s judicial reforms
programme in consultation with the respective High Courts, to ensure speedy and fair disposal of all civil cases within one year and to clear the backlog of pending cases. 5. Initiate civil services reform: reform: Appoint the most suitable officers in the federal bureaucracy purely on merit. Simultaneously, constitute a taskforce that delivers a blueprint to transform Pakistan’s civil services by ensuring tenure protection and an accountability mechanism to improve credibility, in order to attract and retain the best talent in the country.
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THEME 2: STRENGTHEN THE FEDERATION
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THEME 2: STRENGTHEN THE FEDERATION
Pakistan is stronger if its federating units are stronger. This is why Imran Khan will run a government for all of Pakistan, and not just for any one province. PTI will take the difficult decisions that the current government has only paid nominal homage to. With Imran Khan as Prime Minister, Pakistan will have a strong centre, as well as stronger provinces. In particular, Imran Khan will immediately begin action on five priorities to strengthen the Federation of Pakistan. 1. Expedite integration of FATA with KPK: Expedite legislation on FATA’s integration with KP, launch a Mega FATA Development Plan and begin the process of extending all laws to the tribal areas. 2. Champion reconciliation in Balochistan: Balochistan: Empower the Balochistan government to launch and champion large-scale efforts for political reconciliation. Ensure significant local participation in development projects; in particular in the development of Gwadar. 3. Spearhead creation of a South Punjab province along administrative lines: lines: Create national consensus on the creation of a South Punjab province with the objective to lift 35 million people out of poverty, as well as to create an administrative balance between Pakistan’s federating units. 4. Begin transforming Karachi: Karachi: Launch a transformation plan for Karachi – prioritising governance, security, housing and infrastructure, mass transit, solid waste management and a clean drinking water plan. 5. Initiate poverty alleviation drive across Pakistan’s poorest districts: Establish a special mechanism to supplement existing poverty alleviation efforts in the poorest districts across Sindh, Punjab, KP and Balochistan.
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THEME 3: REVITALISE ECONOMIC GROWTH
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THEME 3: REVITALISE ECONOMIC GROWTH
Imran Khan has a vision to irreversibly transform Pakistan’s economy. economy. PTI’s economic plan is not for one segment of Pakistan’s society but for all. The current government has achieved the illusion of growth by fudging figures, promoting consumption, and relying on unsustainable levels of debt. However, the fundamentals of Pakistan’s economy, after five years, are in bad shape. The tax to GDP ratio continues to be abysmal despite being propped up on an unfair system of indirect taxes. Industry is struggling, and exports are at an all-time low. Foreign reserves are also dangerously low and foreign debt is at an all-time high. The energy sector and other key state-owned institutions insti tutions such as PIA continue to shout d for reform and investment. Pakistan’s business environment continues to nee need significant reform. Our team has prepared a ten-point economic plan to tackle these challenges, that we will start working on immediately.
1. Rapidly create jobs for the youth: Unveil Pakistan’s most ambitious Job Creation Strategy to create 10 million jobs across five years, along with a special focus on skill-building through TVET training. 2. Revive manufacturing and facilitate rapid growth of SME sector: Announce an immediate support package of reduced taxes, bring energy prices in alignment with regional competitors, clear the backlog of refund/rebates, launch a labour policy to safeguard workers and provide upskilling. Introduce additional incentives for Pakistan’s Pakistan’s manufacturing industry in order to compete in international markets, boost exports, and create jobs. 3. Launch policy framework to build 5 million houses: Launch the Prime Minister’s Housing programme, to build 5 million housing units for the middle and lower income segments in 5 years through the private sector. This will boost industry, create jobs and provide shelter. 4. Boost the tourism industry: Build industry: Build framework for private sector investment to develop new and upgrade existing facilities. Initiate conversion of all government guest houses into hotels open to the public. Identify 4 new tourism destinations within the first f irst 100 days for development.
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5. Reform Reform the tax administration: Appoint administration: Appoint a bold, capable and dynamic FBR chairman immediately; launch FBR reform and share a business friendly and equitable tax policy within 100 days to revive the economy and reduce debt dependence. 6. Make Pakistan Business Friendly: Build the “Council of Business Leaders” chaired by the PM to improve “Doing Business” in Pakistan, to attract investment, encourage participation of overseas Pakistanis and grow exports and bring the country within the top 100 in Doing Business rankings in 5 years from the current position of 147 th. 7. Transform key institutions: institutions: Begin turnaround of key State-OwnedEnterprises (SOEs) by creating the Pakistan Wealth Fund and by taking SOEs out of the purview of line ministries. Start reform of PIA, Railways, Pakistan Steel Mills, GenCos, DisCos and other enterprises on an emergency basis. 8. Fix Pakistan’s Energy Challenge: Immediately Challenge: Immediately begin work to shift towards sustainable and affordable energy. Address root causes of circular debt, initiate regulatory reforms designed to move away from rent seeking models and towards increasing system efficiency and recovery of losses. 9. Ensure CPEC translates into a game changer: changer: Launch action plan to transform CPEC into a true economic corridor as opposed to an infrastructure project. Enable growth in agriculture, industries and services sector by creating better two-way linkages li nkages with China. 10. Enhance access to finance for citizens and industry: Ensure National Financial Inclusion Strategy implementation is streamlined and capitalising on the digital ecosystem. Develop a plan to increase deposit base of banks to 50% of GDP to encourage higher savings. Expedite establishment of an infrastructure lending bank for large projects.
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THEME 4: UPLIFT AGRICULTURE AND CONSERVE WATER
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THEME 4: UPLIFT AGRICULTURE AND CONSERVE WATER
Agriculture is the lifeline of Pakistan. At Pakistan. At over 21 percent of Pakistan’s GDP and the largest employer of the labour force, agriculture is vital to Pakistan’s economy and the most potent lever to reduce rural poverty. According to the United Nations, Pakistan is headed toward an absolute water scarcity crisis by 2025, and with 90% of the water being consumed in agriculture, the sector is likely to take a significant hit. In this landscape, PTI will take five actions to uplift agriculture and conserve water resources:
1. Impose agriculture emergency to increase farmer profitability: Launch profitability: Launch PTI’s agriculture policy to increase farmer profitability; reduce taxes on diesel;
introduce
regenerative
agriculture
and
weed
management;
encourage a change in crop-mix; and optimise subsidy programmes along with other initiatives. 2. Subsidise and improve access to finance for farmers: Collaborate farmers: Collaborate with financial institutions and mobile money operators to develop innovative, easy to access and subsidised lending products for farmers such as warehouse receipt financing. 3. Transform Transform agriculture pr oduce markets and incentivise value-addition: value-addition: Initiate a markets and storage expansion drive to ensure competitive prices, including legislation to permit private sector participation. Develop incentive plan to encourage SME level food processing with focus on export. 4. Revamp Revamp the li vestock vestock sector: Launch plan to become self-sufficient in milk and milk-based products, and introduce a programme to massively expand meat production, in order to bring prosperity to millions of small livestock farmers. 5. Upgrade and Implement National Water Policy: Take immediate steps to to expedite construction of Diamer-Bhasha dam, by the year 2028. Kick-off the preparation of the master water plan within each province. Kick-off a programme to massively expand water conservation efforts, including in agriculture, through smart interventions to reduce water losses and through improved monitoring.
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THEME 5: REVOLUTIONISE SOCIAL SERVICES
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THEME 5: REVOLUTIONISE SOCIAL SERVICES
Bringing social change is an absolutely fundamental element of Imran Khan’s agenda to transform Pakistan. PTI will champion the causes of women. We will work tirelessly to bring Pakistan’s 60 million poor out of poverty, and we will build on Imran Khan’s vision of a green Pakistan. Within the first 100 Days, we will begin work on the following priorities to revolutionalise social services.
1. Transform Health & Education: Launch PTI’s health and education blueprints, detailing out a step by step plan on how the access, quality and management of health and education services will be transformed and depoliticised in five years of PTI government. 2. Expand the Social Safety Net: Net: Retain and improve BISP as the primary social safety net tool for the ultra-poor, expand Sehat Insaf card to the poorest families across Pakistan and launch special assistance programmes for persons with disabilities. 3. Champion women development: Launch PTI’s women’s development plan; initiate criminal justice reform; protect inheritance rights; launch Women Economic Empowerment package. 4. Provide Clean Drinking Water for all: Announce short and medium term all: Announce plans, with immediate implementation roadmap by federal government to provide clean drinking water to every citizen. Start implementation in Islamabad and provincial capitals before expanding nationwide. 5. Champion Green Growth: Growth: Establish Green Growth Task Force to initiate legislation and projects under PTI’s Green Growth Agenda. Announce countrywide 10 Billion Tree Tsunami programme; and launch the “urban tree tsunami” in provincial capitals.
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THEME 6: ENSURE PAKISTAN’S NATIONAL SECURITY
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THEME 6: ENSURE PAKISTAN’S NATIONAL SECURITY
Finally, Imran Khan will ensure a government that both reassert Pakistan’s credibility within the international comity of nations, and that acts decisively on internal security. Within the first 100 Days of a PTI government, we will start working on the following five priorities to ensure Pakistan’s national security. 1. Update
and
expand
institutional
structure: Begin structure:
process
of
strengthening the Foreign Ministry by expanding its institutional capacity, capability and global outreach, including legal capacity. Establish a policy coordination cell within the PM office to coordinate inputs from key national stakeholders into the foreign policy for informed decision making. 2. Increase Pakistan’s regional and global r elevance: elevance:
Initiate new policies rooted in Pakistan’s priorities, including a conflict resolution approach towards improving our relations with our eastern and western neighbours. Initiate work on a blueprint towards resolving the Kashmir issue within the parameters of UNSC resolutions.
Improve Pakistan’s relevance, regionally and globally, globally, both at the bilateral and multilateral levels including moves to expand the existing strategic partnership with China, as well as with our other allies in the region.
3. Leverage foreign policy to strengthen the economy: Prioritise politicoeconomic diplomacy to revitalise the economy through foreign direct investment and trade. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce to prepare a roadmap to this effect. 4. Form a National Security Organisation: Form Organisation: Form a holistic National Security Organisation (NSO) - headed by the PM- on the model of National Command Authority (NCA) which will comprise two parts: the Plenary Council (policy and strategy) and the Specialist Working Group. NACTA will act as the Secretariat of the NSO. 5. Enhance internal security: security: To counter terrorism, begin implementing a comprehensive internal security policy based on 4 E’s: Expose (links between active and passive terrorists), Enforce (full implementation and expansion of the National Action Plan), Eliminate (through isolation, extermination and blowback prevention), and Educate (restructure syllabi and mainstream madrasas).
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ENSURING IMPLEMENTATION
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ENSURING IMPLEMENTATION
Any agenda, no matter how good on paper, will only have impact if implemented well. Implementing change in government is messy, hard work that requires resolve, capability, as well as constant learning and adaptation. We believe we are ready to implement an agenda of change, better than anyone else in Pakistan, because we have the highest aspirations; we have a team, led by Imran Khan, including some of the best political and professional talent in the country; and we now have experience of government that we will build on. We will release further details of our implementation plan over the next few weeks, but broadly, Imran Khan’s Government will ensure the implementation of this agenda through the following actions. 1. Imran Khan wil l select select a cabinet cabinet of change leaders. leaders. Imran Khan has a track record of build teams that win, and he will bring that approach to how he will select his team to run the country. PTI’s cabinet will consist of people with leadership ability, with professional experience, and the highest standards of integrity, to steer Pakistan through its journey of change.
2. The Prime Minister will personally oversee reform and manage the performance of his team. In line with how great reform journeys have happened elsewhere, the reform process will be led by, and personally overseen by Imran Khan himself. Key items on the reform agenda will be reviewed on a monthly or on a quarterly basis. Any challenges will be unblocked. Progress, both of the agenda, and of the performance of key ministers, will be based on a few key metrics, so that honest and fact-based discussions can be had on the pace of progress. We will ensure that change happens, not just because we will plan, but because the PTI team in government will be constantly working on implementing that plan. 3. There will be a Reform Unit driving change in the Prime Minister’s Offi Minister’s Offi ce. To support the process of reform, in addition to the cabinet, Imran Khan will create a small team of reform leaders, champions and experts to help achieve his vision of transforming the country, as part of a high-performance reform unit in his office. This team will consist of the best professional talent that Pakistan
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has to offer, whether elected, from a government background, or a private background.
4. We will run Pakistan’s most transparent government. Government in
Pakistan has often underachieved, because what it is normally doing is not visible to the public. We will create Pakistan’s most transparent government, to give our citizens a clear view of what is working and what isn’t. Progress on key priorities will be made public every three months, so that the people of Pakistan, the real stakeholders of change, are part of our journey of reform.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This document was prepared by PTI’s Election Management Cell (EMC) f or Elections 2018, headed by Mr. Muhammad Shehzad Arbab.
Work on the First 100 Days Agenda was led by the head of the Policy Unit within the EMC, Mr. Taimur Khan Jhagra. A number of people within the t he policy unit contributed to the effort. These include Ms. Kashmala Kakakhel, Mr. Hashim Rashid, Mr. Saad Hayat Tamman, Mr. Bilal Rao, Ms. Zahra Zaheer, and Mr. Saad Kakakhel.
Developing the First 100 Days Agenda was the result of several rounds of engagement and problem solving with the senior PTI leadership team, and also involved significant input from leading sector experts f rom across Pakistan.
For mor e infor mation o n the First 100-Da 100-Day y Agenda, please follow us on Twitter: @PTIofficial @pti_policyunit @CSShehzadArbab @jhagra
For feedback and com ments r ega egardi rdi ng t he 100-D 100-Day ay Agenda, please please wri te to us at
[email protected]
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