Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has said that Rs 70 billion has been allocated for the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2025-26.
He said loans were taken out several times from 2018 to 2022. They are working with the provinces and federal ministries to formulate a plan of action. It is estimated that Rs 664 billion will be kept for infrastructure projects.
Talking to the media after the Annual Plan Coordination Committee meeting, Ahsan Iqbal said that Rs 150 billion has been allocated for the social sector, Rs 120 billion will be kept for the N-25 highway, and Rs 70 billion has been kept for the former FATA districts. Rs 64 billion has been kept for Azad Kashmir and Gilgit.
He said that the provision of funds will be ensured for the completion of ongoing projects, the economic growth rate is expected to be 4.2 percent. The government has also saved billions of rupees in various projects and remittances have increased by $ 10 billion. It is estimated that Rs 664 billion will be kept for infrastructure projects.
The Federal Minister said that the target is to take exports to $35 billion, overseas Pakistanis are expressing full confidence in the government, tax revenues have increased by 26 percent. A strong economy is indispensable for strong defense. Climate change and water-related issues must be resolved.
Ahsan Iqbal also said that increasing the tax net is necessary for better provision of basic facilities, including health and education. The government will achieve its goals through better governance. We will try to complete the Diamer-Bhasha Dam as soon as possible. The Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway will be completed in three years.
Earlier, an important meeting of the Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) was held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal, in which Federal Minister Khalid Maqbool, various federal secretaries, State Bank of Pakistan, representatives of provincial governments, heads of national and provincial institutions and other high officials participated.
In the meeting, Chief Economist Dr. Imtiaz gave a detailed briefing to the participants on the upcoming annual development plan, economic roadmap and priority goals.
Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal, while addressing the gathering, said that the continuous reduction in the national development budget has become a major problem due to the economic challenges of the last few years. Expansion of development funds is the need of the hour, as the public expects improvements in health, education, water, electricity and infrastructure from elected governments.
He said that currently more than half of the federal budget is being spent on debt repayment and it has become extremely difficult to manage the development budget with the existing resources. The development budget for the current fiscal year has been set at Rs 1,000 billion, in which it was not possible to include the projects of all ministries.
He clarified that the reduction in the development budget has come as a challenge to the growth rate, solving public problems and achieving economic goals. Ahsan Iqbal emphasised that a coordinated campaign is needed at the national level to prevent tax evasion and expand the tax net, as Pakistan is among the countries in the world where the tax revenue rate is lowest.
The Federal Minister said that more than 118 low priority or inactive projects have been closed while only important national projects are being given priority in limited funds. Foreign funded projects are also among the top priorities in the PSDP.
He announced that major projects like Diamer-Bhasha Dam, Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway, Chaman Road, Karakoram Highway (Phase II) are of national importance and their timely completion is indispensable for the bright future of Pakistan.
The Federal Minister said that national harmony is being promoted by organising workshops in all provinces under the Udan Pakistan program. We realise that the development budget has to be increased over time, not restricted further.
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