Islamabad: Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has called for an expansion of the tax base and a focus on boosting the country’s exports. During a meeting of the Central Development Working Party in Islamabad, he highlighted the critical need for economic reforms to manage the country’s debt and sustain development budgets amid ongoing economic challenges.
According to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Minister Iqbal underscored the significant portion of the national budget currently allocated to debt servicing, which consumes over fifty percent of total expenditures. He drew attention to the progress made in reducing the inflation rate from 35 percent to 9.5 percent, an achievement that reflects positively on government efforts. However, he also noted that the development budget has struggled to maintain the 1,000 billion rupee mark set in 2018 by the previous PML-N government, largely due to economic mismanagement by subsequent administrations from 2018 to 2022.
During the session, Iqbal emphasized the importance of careful planning and fiscal responsibility across all provinces and ministries when initiating new projects. He insisted that the quality of projects should not be compromised in the preparation of PC-I documents and that national priorities should be at the forefront of any project formulation.
Moreover, the Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to revitalizing the economy through the implementation of the 5Es National Economic Transformation Plan. He expressed optimism about achieving a target of six percent annual growth by the year 2029, which would mark a significant turnaround in the country’s economic trajectory.