The Living Scripts | Saleem Sethi (Former Secretary Finance, Balochistan and AJ&K)

The sixteenth session of IPS’ series of the programs ‘The Living Scripts’ was held with Saleem Sethi, former secretary, Finance, Balochistan and AJ&K, additional secretary, Finance, and secretary, Economic Affairs Division, Govt. of Pakistan, on October 28, 2020.

Shedding a light on his early life, Sethi told the audience that he was born in Peshawar and went to Burn Hall School Abbottabad for his early education. After doing his intermediate from Government College, Rawalpindi, he moved to Iran with his father where lived for a long period, even witnessing the Iranian revolution in 1979. Later he also went on to teach English to Iranian military officers.

Opening up about his tenure as a civil servant, the speaker apprised the audience that he joined the Finance Division after qualifying the competitive exam, following which he went on to serve in many important positions.

Speaking of his time as the secretary Finance in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K), Sethi shed light on his role and efforts in establishing the ‘Bank of Azad Kashmir’, stating that he counts it among his biggest achievements to date. 

On questions regarding the influence of international financial institutions (IFI’s) on Pakistan’s economy, Sethi said that organizations like IMF and World Bank have been used by their sponsoring countries, particularly USA, to put economic pressures on the countries which acquire loans.

By the end of the sitting, the speaker also enlightened the audiences by reading excerpts from his book Raz Nawaye Rumi, which is a collection of his personal anecdotes and poetries.