Daily Times

Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has said Islamabad will launch its five-year National Economic Transformation Plan on Tuesday, state-run media reported, reiterating that it would be based on economic factors that Islamabad needs to address and achieve to ensure long-term progress and stability.

Iqbal said in July that Pakistan’s National Economic Transformation Plan will be based on the 5Es framework (exports, energy, economic growth, education and equality), adding that it would aim to foster stability and lay the foundation for future growth in Pakistan.

“Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal says National Economic Transformation Plan for next five years will launch tomorrow [Tuesday],” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Monday. “He said that the transformation plan is based upon several factors which need to be addressed and achieved if Pakistan wants to develop and progress in future.”

Speaking at the passing out ceremony of the officers of the 47th Specialized Training Program of Pakistan Administration Service in Lahore, the minister urged Pakistan to focus its resources on promoting an export-based economy.

He urged authorities to pay attention on automation, nanotechnology and artificial technology, stressing that these sectors will “reshape future economics.”

“He urged the civil servants to utilize all their capabilities to better manage public issues, as civil service is a huge responsibility rather than just a job,” the state broadcaster said.

Islamabad has been struggling to recover from a macroeconomic crisis that has plagued the country for the past two years. Inflation in the South Asian country surged to a record high of 38 percent in May 2023 fueled by rising prices of food and fuel, as the country’s national currency weakened against the US dollar while its foreign exchange reserves plummeted to historic lows.

Pakistan almost suffered a sovereign default before Islamabad clinched a last-gasp $3 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2023 that helped its economy stay afloat. Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has repeatedly said Islamabad needs to adopt an export-led economy to achieve long-term and sustainable economic growth.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also urged the government to seek greater collaboration in trade, defense, agriculture and other key sectors of the economy to attract foreign investment and brighten Pakistan’s economic prospects.

In its move to attract foreign investment in key sectors, Pakistan has enhanced its bilateral trade and investment ties with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Central Asian states and other Gulf countries.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s economy grew by 0.92 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25, despite a contraction in the industrial sector, according to data approved by the National Accounts Committee, and released by its Statistics Bureau on Monday. The growth was driven by positive performances in the agriculture and services sectors, which grew by 1.15 percent and 1.43 percent, respectively, in the first quarter of the fiscal year which ends in June 2025. Pakistan’s economy grew by 2.69 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of the previous 2023-24 fiscal year.

However, the industrial sector contracted by 1.03 percent, mainly due to a decline in mining and quarrying activities during July-September, read the report.

The committee compiling the national accounts approved the introduction of quarterly estimates of expenditure of the economy. On the basis of latest figures of the national accounts aggregates for the last fiscal year, the overall size of the economy stood at 105.6 trillion Pakistani rupees ($379.31 billion). Annual per capita income in rupees was recorded at 472,263 Pakistani rupees ($1,696.35).