Islamabad: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal announced that the country’s economy has shifted towards stability during the first eight months of fiscal year 2025-26, attributing this to the government’s coordinated macroeconomic policies. He spoke at a ceremony in Islamabad for the launch of the Monthly Development Report.

According to Radio Pakistan, Minister Iqbal highlighted that regular meetings of the National Price Monitoring Committee have helped maintain a steady supply of essential commodities and contributed to price stability. This has resulted in a notable decrease in the prices of essential food items such as eggs, chicken, and potatoes.

Iqbal emphasized that the Large-Scale Manufacturing sector showed a consistent recovery, with a 4.8% increase on an annual basis during 2025-26. He added that fourteen out of twenty-two sectors, including automobiles, textiles, and food, experienced positive growth.

The Minister reported that tax collections reached 8.1 trillion rupees from July to February 2025-26, up from 7.3 trillion rupees in the same period last year. Remittances also increased by 11.3%, from 20.9 billion dollars to 23.2 billion dollars, reflecting overseas Pakistanis’ growing confidence in the government’s economic policies.

Discussing the external sector, Iqbal noted that exports of goods and services hit 24 billion dollars during the first seven months of the fiscal year, while imports rose to 44.4 billion dollars. He attributed the rise in imports to stronger demand for intermediate and capital goods, along with tariff rationalization efforts.

On the development front, the Central Development Working Party approved four projects and recommended five projects to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, reinforcing the government’s commitment to key development initiatives.

Minister Iqbal also mentioned international collaboration efforts, noting the initiation of a Five-Year Roadmap for economic cooperation with Kazakhstan, following a strategic partnership joint declaration earlier this year.

He concluded by urging Pakistanis to contribute to economic stability, to help the nation overcome global economic challenges and strengthen its economic position.