ISLAMABAD — The federal government has taken former State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor Dr Ishrat Hussain’s institutional reform blueprint as the foundation of its restructuring agenda, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday, adding that Ishrat Hussain reforms will be rolled out in phases across ministries and attached departments.
Aurangzeb spoke at a Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) ceremony where Dr Ishrat was given a Lifetime Achievement Award. He said the government was building on the former governor’s recommendations instead of setting aside earlier work and beginning again.
How the blueprint entered the government plan
The finance minister said he had personally approached Dr Ishrat for his institutional reforms report and then adopted it as the basis of the government’s restructuring programme. Implementation is gradual, he said, because of the scale of the proposed changes and the number of ministries and departments involved.
“The groundwork was done by you, and we are now leveraging it. However, execution and implementation are taking a little more time,” Aurangzeb told Dr Ishrat. He described him as a mentor whose integrity, humility and public service still inspire him.
Central bank legacy recalled at the ceremony
SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad said Dr Ishrat transformed Pakistan’s central bank during a six-year tenure that began in December 1999, when the country faced international isolation, economic sanctions after the 1998 nuclear tests and a severe balance-of-payments crisis — a shortfall in foreign currency to meet external obligations.
Within months of taking office, Ahmad said, Dr Ishrat prepared a strategy paper and turned it into an ambitious programme that strengthened the SBP’s autonomy, professional capacity and regulatory framework. Emphasis on merit, training and continuous learning, he added, helped produce a generation of central bankers who later took leadership roles in the financial sector. Ahmad also recalled an IT committee set up nearly three decades ago to modernise the SBP and the wider banking industry.
Former federal minister and commerce adviser Abdul Razak Dawood called the award well-deserved recognition of that SBP transformation. Habib Bank Limited Chairman Sultan Ali Allana described Dr Ishrat as “an institution in himself,” citing his mix of civil service experience and international financial expertise. Former secretary to the prime minister Nargis Sethi and Boston University’s Dr Adil Najam also spoke.
Advice to young Pakistanis
In his own remarks, Dr Ishrat urged young people to invest in education, stay resilient and pursue public service. “Your beginnings need not determine your destination,” he said, recalling how perseverance and teachers helped him past academic hardship and social exclusion. After retirement he has visited 79 universities across Pakistan to encourage students facing economic uncertainty, fewer opportunities and the rise of artificial intelligence.
He also spoke about his 20-year World Bank career, including economic reforms in Ghana, post-conflict support for Tajikistan and advice to Azerbaijan on a sovereign wealth fund. Azerbaijan’s state oil fund, he said, has accumulated around USD 75 billion, underscoring the value of saving resource revenues for future generations.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Hakumat ne Dr Ishrat Hussain ki institutional reform report ko apni restructuring ki bunyad bana liya hai. Wazir-e-Khazaana Aurangzeb ne kaha ke yeh kaam ministries mein dheere dheere hoga. Matlab yeh hai ke sarkari idaron mein tabdeeli jaldi ek saath nahi aayegi. Logon ke liye asar tab saaf hoga jab departments ka kaam zyada behtar aur wazay tariqe se chalne lage.
