ISLAMABAD: The government has posted Younus Dagha, BS-22 officer of Pakistan Administrative Service as Secretary Finance Division with effect from March 22, 2019.
Younus Dagha has been transferred from the present post of Secretary, Commerce Division, a notification issued by Establishment Division on Wednesday.
According to profile Mohammad Younus Dagha, born on April 23, 1962, is a career Civil Servant having joined the Government of Pakistan in 1985.
He possesses varied experience in the fields of Energy, Finance, Commerce, International Trade and Public Administration. He holds post graduate degrees in Business Administration, Economics, Law and Commerce equipping him with required academic background to adeptly manage multifaceted assignments in his career.
During an illustrious career spanning over 20 years, he has successfully accomplished many challenging assignments. From being an Administrator at various tiers in the Provinces of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Project Director in mega projects,
Dagha possesses a vast and varied experience. He was assigned the challenging task of bringing country’s unutilised energy treasure in the Thar Coalfields to fruition – an immense natural resource with a potential of 175 billion tons of lignite coal, which till then had become an abject failure.
Dagha conceived and successfully executed a plan to bring back the local and international investors’ interest in the development of the Thar coalfield.
The JV between the GoSindh and Engro, known as Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company is now set to become the largest Public Private Partnership Company in Pakistan.
As Secretary Investment in Sindh, Dagha facilitated numerous Wind Energy projects in Jhampir-Gharo Wind Corridor which are now fast reaching their execution stage.
Similarly, during his stay in Gilgit-Baltistan as Chief Secretary, he played a vital role in facilitating land acquisition and resettlement process which is at a final stage now.
Younus Dagha joined as Federal Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Power on 17th Oct 2014, at a difficult juncture when the power sector was facing multiple crises. Power outages, especially in the Industrial sector, were taking a toll on the economy, causing frequent protests.
The inter-corporate (circular) debt in the sector was continuously mounting at a pace of Rs. 14.5 billion every month, the generation had retarded due to drying cash flow and no new investments were forthcoming under serious doubts over sector’s capacity to pay.
The ensuing year 2015 became a game changer for the power sector. Benefitting from the assiduous management, effective monitoring and better financial controls brought in by Dagha, the power sector witnessed a major turnaround.
The investors, especially under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, were provided with the required policy incentives and facilitation to ensure timely initiation of the new generation and transmission projects.
The result was that 2015 became the best performance year for the power sector not only in the history of the country but in the entire region.
Country’s exports were in continuous decline for the last three years and a BoP crisis seemed imminent when Dagha was appointed as Secretary Commerce in April 2017, to salvage the grim situation.
On assuming charge as the new Secretary, Dagha chalked out an elaborate reform agenda for the Ministry of Commerce and its attached organizations.
Ranging from Governance Reforms to Policy, Institutional and Commercial Diplomacy, all critical facets affecting the performance of the Ministry were revamped.
In a short span of nine months he was able to secure and successfully implement a Prime Minister Export Enhancement Package to the tune of Rs. 180 billion for supporting the export industry.
On the policy side, his achievements include; rationalization of imports, effective enforcement of SPS standards, simplification of procedures, formulation of e-commerce framework and preparation of five year Strategic Trade Policy Framework to provide a long-term predictable regime.
His accomplishments in the area of Commercial Diplomacy comprise successful midterm review of GSP plus, launching of ‘Look Africa Plan’ market access strategy for South American region, unilateral expansion of Indonesia Pakistan Preferential Trade Agreement to include Pakistan’s priority export products, breaking the deadlock of long stalled negotiations on 2nd Phase of Pakistan China FTA and putting in place a robust monitoring mechanism to evaluate performance of the trade officers posted abroad.
By far his most remarkable initiative is the launching of “Emerging Pakistan” campaign to successfully brand country’s image internationally.
As a result of his prudent and timely interventions the decline in exports was not only arrested but put on a growth trajectory. Between July to December, 2017 the exports registered an average growth of 12 percent.
Apart from this, Dagha’s tenure in the Finance Ministry as Special Assistant to FM and Additional Secretary (External Finance) provided him the insight into the working of the International Financial Institutions.
