ISLAMABAD, May 8 (APP): Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal Thursday said that government has decided to include only those development projects in its annual development program for the next fiscal year, which would be aligned with the Uraan Pakistan Program.
Addressing a press conference, the minister said that the process of strict scrutiny for the developmental projects was initiated in order to ensure the use of resources on such developmental projects, which would help create more job opportunities for sustainable economic growth and social prosperity.
He resolved for maintaining transparency and judicious use of national resources to avoid the cost escalation of developmental projects, adding that a Hotline, and an effective evolution & monitoring unit has been established within the Planing Ministry for effective monitoring of developmental projects as well as tapping the leakages.
“We have also established an effective coordination mechanism with our development partners and shared our priorities with them to align them with these priorities to carry forward the development goals of the government”, he remarked.
Professor Ahsan Iqbal further informed that government was also working with provincial governments on Uraan Pakistan Program and different workshops were also held, to ensure appropriate use of national resources to attain sustainable economic growth and development.
Highlighting the economic achievements of the incumbent government during the 10 months of on-going fiscal year, the minister said that it was the year of economic turnaround as inflation went down from 38% to 2.5 %, adding that the headline inflation was recorded at 0.3% during the month of April, 2025.
Meanwhile, the current account surplus during the period under review stood at $1.86 billion as compared to the deficit of $1.65 billion of the corresponding period of the last year, he said adding that remittances grew by 33% and reached to $33 billion against the same period of the last year.
The fiscal deficit also came down from 3.1% to 2.2% during the period under review, he said adding that revenue collection witnessed about 26% growth in first 10 months of the current fiscal year ,which was historic. He stressed the need for further enhancing the tax to GDP ratio in order to ensure resource generation for initiating mega developmental projects of social prosperity.
About the developmental expenditure during on-going fiscal year, the Planning Minister informed that an amount of Rs900 billion was authorized during 10 months of current fiscal year and it was expected that the remaining allocated amount would be utilized by the end to the year.
The minister also condemned the Indian aggression and killings of innocent civilians. He commended the swift and befitting response of the Pakistan Army, who shot down five fighter jets of Indian air force including 03 Rafale.
Professor Ahsan Iqbal stated that the international community has recognized Pakistan’s superiority in conventional warfare, emphasizing that this capability is crucial for maintaining the regional balance of power.