Islamabad:

The federal government has kicked off a process to improve the performance of Pakistani missions abroad when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assigned the task to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

The first meeting of the special subcommittee formed by DAR was held on Thursday at the Foreign Office. The eight-members subcommittee, led by Convener and a member of the National Assembly Bilal Azhar Kayani.

Senior officials from the Ministry of the Interior, Trade, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Information and TV Sprout, Overseas Pakistanis and the institutional reform cell in the cabinet department attended the meeting.

The subcommittee reviewed the existing structure of Pakistani embassies. Relevant ministries informed the committee on the number of officers and staff in Pakistani embassies and their respective responsibilities.

The subcommittee decided to start reviewing each Pakistani mission from next week. It will also seek recommendations from the respective Pakistani ambassadors. Pakistani ambassadors attend the meetings via virtual link.

Future meetings will focus on questions facing Pakistani embassies, including budget, workforce and responsibility.

The Under Committee prepares extensive recommendations and presents them with the Central Committee, “Rationalization of Pakistan’s missions abroad,” led by Ishaq Dar.