ISLAMABAD: Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that country couldn't be run through charity as taxes were necessary for smooth functioning of state matters.

Speaking at ceremony here, he said that government would reach staff-level agreement with International Monetary Fund (IMF) at end of this month, adding that government would push global lender for climate financing afterwards. "Pakistan is included in list of countries battered by climate change. Pakistan will also have to take measures for controlling population along with climate action," he emphasised. He said that bureaucracy was omnipresent, therefore he deemed private sector's advancement in every filed necessary. Aurangzeb said government will ensure that number of taxpayers increases. Only about 5 million people in Pakistan pay taxes. 

Aurangzeb admitted that there was serious trust deficit among international donors, remarks that come as Pakistan awaits realisation of pledges made to help it recover from devastating floods of 2022. Addressing Climate Action for Pakistan organised by Acumen Pakistan, he said that during discussions in Geneva, in backdrop of devastating floods in 2022, pledges to tune of $ 9 billion were made."This shows that there is no dearth of funds as people understand emergency here, but by and large we could not have those pledges materialise into actual funding. "Reason for that is we needed to come up with projects that were credible, projects which could be monitored and on basis of that whole discussion was going to go forward. "And reality is people don't trust government and I am in government, so therefore it is private sector which has to lead country in all aspects," he said. He said government needed to ensure ownership and accountability of those funds.