Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Monday chaired a meeting on affordable housing finance schemes, aimed at addressing the critical challenges, faced in long-term housing finance and exploring viable policy models for low-cost housing in the country.
The meeting was attended by Planning Secretary Awais Manzoor Sumra, Vice Chancellor of PIDE Nadeem Javed, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, CEOs of private banks, and representatives from PMRC and National Bank of Pakistan, a news release said.
The participants reviewed international best practices and mortgage models from countries including Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, Bangladesh, Brazil and India. Discussions focused on designing a practical and sustainable housing finance framework tailored to Pakistan’s socio-economic landscape. Ahsan Iqbal emphasized that the unavailability of long-term housing finance remained one of the country’s most significant barriers to affordable housing.
He recalled substantial progress made in 2017-18, which was unfortunately disrupted by political instability. “When policy continuity is lacking, the public bears the cost,” he noted.
Highlighting the success of auto-leasing models in the private sector, the minister questioned why a similar model could not be implemented for housing. “Millions of people live their entire lives in rented homes. Owning a house should not be a distant dream for the salaried class,” he said, adding that “a home amounting to Rs 20 million to Rs 30 million cannot be built through lump-sum payments by an average income earner.” Ahsan Iqbal advocated for a housing finance framework similar to auto-leasing, backed by mortgages and supported by government policy.
He stressed the government’s responsibility to facilitate this through guarantees and regulatory support, announcing “The government is ready to offer 100% guarantees to banks to ensure the security of their capital.”
The Planning Ministry’s proposed financial framework was presented by Member Infrastructure Waqas Anwar.
It was acknowledged that the Punjab government is also launching its own housing roll-out program.
In order to streamline legal and regulatory aspects, the Planning Ministry would engage with the Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar.
The minister called on private banks to adopt a market-based housing finance model without fear, assuring full government support. “Creating an easy housing finance framework is not rocket science. Successful models exist worldwide, and we must adapt them to our context,” he said. He also proposed targeted government subsidies for smaller housing units like three-marla homes, while allowing banks to independently design frameworks for larger units (ten Marla and above). “This initiative can trigger a transformative shift in Pakistan’s housing sector, while significantly contributing to economic growth, infrastructure development, and social uplift,” Ahsan Iqbal said.
During the meeting, CEOs of private banks responded positively to the proposals, expressing willingness to collaborate in designing a practical financing framework for affordable housing.
“This is not just a policy initiative – it is a national economic and social imperative,” the minister remarked.