ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb said government would "Move forward" with structural reforms in key sectors as it cannot "Defer this agenda" anymore.

Addressing ground-breaking ceremony of Head Office Building of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), he reiterated that under umbrella of International Monetary Fund, government would move forward with structural reforms in taxation, energy, State-Owned Entities and privatisation. "We have to move forward because we do not have the space and room anymore to defer this agenda," he said.

Talking about economy, he said that announcements including Fitch upgrade and State Bank of Pakistan's decision to lower policy rate, "Are direct manifestations of macroeconomic stability that we are following and economic team will continue to move forward with this agenda".s Aurangzeb stressed on importance of macroeconomic permanence. "Stabilisation will lead to growth thus we have to bring permanence," he said. On privatisation of SOEs, he said government has said that all insurance companies under public sector would move in direction of being handed over to private sphere. "Going forward, entire insurance sector should be managed and held by private sector." He said that the country need to pursue export-led growth and FDI. "If we want to borrow externally, then it should be for those projects, which in turn produce foreign currency for country." Pakistan did manage to clinch yet another IMF bailout, government machinery is also under pressure over high energy tariffs and lack of economic growth.