ISLAMABAD, April 14: President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday approved a proposal to set up of a ‘National Commission on Government Reform’ to simplify rules and procedures at all tiers of governance for efficient implementation of policies.

The commission will be headed by Dr Ishrat Hussain, former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan.   

The two leaders co-chaired a meeting which was also attended by chief ministers at Aiwan-i-Sadr.    

“We must remove obstacles in the way of efficient provision of services to achieve a visible improvement in the quality of life for the common man,” the president urged.    

He said all tiers of governance from local to provincial and federal level should have harmony so that people could have access to efficient services in all aspects of governance.    

“We must fill the gap between the formulation and implementation of policies and simplification of rules will be a major catalyst in this respect.”    

The president and the prime minister would co-head a committee which would also include the four chief ministers. The committee would approve the proposal put forward by the National Commission on Government Reform (NCGR).   

Talking to reporters, NCGR chief Dr Hussain said the commission had been tasked to put forward proposals as part of a continuous process for early removal of impediments in the way of efficient governance.    

The NCGR will comprise nine members, three from the government and six from the private sector.—APP