Ahsan Iqbal Vows Modern Rail, World-Class Airline
Islamabad: The Annual Planning Coordination Committee (APCC) meeting was held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, in which Federal Minister Khalid Maqbool, federal secretaries, State Bank of Pakistan, representatives of provincial governments, and heads of important national and provincial institutions participated.
During the meeting, Chief Economist Dr. Imtiaz gave a detailed briefing to the participants on the annual action plan, economic development roadmap, and national development priorities.
Addressing the meeting, Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that due to the economic challenges facing Pakistan, the reduction in the development budget is a serious problem that is hindering the national growth rate, economic goals, and solving public problems.
He said, “We realize that with the growing population, it is necessary to expand development funds, not shrink them.” According to Ahsan Iqbal, currently more than half of the budget is going to repay debts, however, the government is taking several steps to increase revenue, balance external payments, and bring harmony in development expenditure.
The federal minister, while mentioning the ongoing initiatives under “Udan Pakistan”, said that the development budget is being used for national harmony, while workshops have been organized in all provinces.
Ahsan Iqbal said that this year’s development budget has been set at Rs 1,000 billion, in which it is a big challenge to include projects of all ministries.
He said that now only those projects will be included that are related to national interest. “If any project could not be included, then I apologize in advance”, Ahsan Iqbal said.
He added that the best development budget was given in 2017-18, but after that there was a decline. Only important projects can be given priority in limited resources, and due to this, more than 118 projects of lesser importance were closed.
Ahsan Iqbal said that higher education projects will be completed quickly and increasing the education rate is the need of the hour.
Diamer-Bhasha Dam, Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway, Chaman Road and Karakoram Highway Phase II are among the national priorities.
He said that tax revenue in Pakistan is very low and we need a national campaign to stop tax evasion. The public will have to keep an eye on tax evaders so that the country’s economy is stable.
The meeting emphasized federal and provincial coordination, timely completion of development projects, and wise planning of limited resources.
Ahsan Iqbal said that now we have to take decisions in the national interest so that the dream of Pakistan’s development and stability can be fulfilled.
