Islamabad: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, has chaired a pivotal meeting to review the proposals for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the fiscal year 2025-26. The session, attended by Secretary Planning Awais Manzoor Sumra and senior officials from the Ministry, focused on optimizing fiscal space and amplifying the development impact of the PSDP.

According to a statement by Press Information Department, the meeting underscored the need to rationalize PSDP throw-forward liabilities by prioritizing projects that have reached 80% financial progress. This approach aims to ensure their completion within the current fiscal year to optimize returns on investment. The Federal Minister directed the suspension of low-priority schemes to allocate resources to projects with significant strategic importance.

The meeting resolved to incorporate new initiatives aligned with the “Uraan Pakistan” framework, a central element of the National Transformation Plan 2024-2029. The Minister emphasized that PSDP allocations would be outcome-driven, performance-based, and accountable to the public, ensuring efficient use of public funds.

Ahsan Iqbal stressed that only projects directly contributing to national development objectives, with clear socioeconomic returns, would be considered in the PSDP 2025-26. This is part of a broader strategy to ensure fiscal prudence and development effectiveness. The Minister also highlighted the importance of timely completion of ongoing PSDP projects, particularly those financed through foreign aid and concessional loans.

In his remarks, Ahsan Iqbal criticized the previous PTI government for significant budgetary cuts in PSDP funding between 2018 and 2022, which he claimed impeded the development trajectory. He noted that 40% of federal development allocations were redirected to provincial projects during this period, creating an imbalance in national priorities.

The meeting concluded with a commitment to fostering an investment-friendly environment and enhancing public expenditure quality, ensuring PSDP interventions align with Pakistan’s long-term development goals.