Planning minister Ahsan Iqbal on Monday said the country’s metropolitan hub Karachi should take the lead in efforts to make the government’s five-year economic plan successful.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif rolled out ‘Uraan Pakistan’ in December 2024, a five-year national economic plan aimed at steering the country toward sustainable growth.
“Karachi’s business community should lead the Uraan Pakistan agenda. The city is the runway to take off the flight for the country’s economic success.” Iqbal said while speaking at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Monday.
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He sought businessmen’s support and partnership to sustain the recent turnaround in the economy through boosting exports, saying there was no need for political long marches in Pakistan which would disrupt the growth.
Make Pakistan an emerging economy that the world takes seriously and ‘Made in Pakistan’ be made a global brand so that the country’s exports fly high.
The minister emphasised that an “economic long march” was required to boost exports to the extent that the previous economic crises could be avoided, emerging as a successful nation while celebrating the first 100 years of independence in 2047.
“We have to transform our $1 trillion economy by 2035. This is the minimum to achieve in order to remain in the game.
“A meaningful rise in export orders and (the total) exports is a must not only to ensure the economy’s security, but also for the national security. The failure to take-off exports will compel us to go again to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and again get bailout packages from friendly countries,” he said.
Iqbal urged that both the government and private sector have to play their due roles in boosting exports through public-private partnerships. “We want partnership with you (businessmen).”
On the political front, the minister said the nation should reject political long marches and demand path to peace, stability, and reforms.
“Every Pakistani should focus on 2047. After 22 years, Pakistan and India will be answerable to the region’s history, as the two countries will be celebrating 100 years of independence.
“What will be our narrative while celebrating the 100 years of independence? Would it be a success story or of ifs and buts? Would we be able to say in history that in our 100-year journey we made Pakistan the number one economy of the South Asian region? Or will we celebrate giving excuses by saying if we had done this and that…and so many buts.”
The minister stressed that innovation and change would be the game changers in future.
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He proposed formation of a Uraan Pakistan Business Council that could monitor implementation of economic reforms, design exports and economic roadmaps, mobilise diaspora and business alliances, and accelerate growth targets set under the 5-year economic programme.
“We should plan for three-fold growth in exports over the next seven years, over 2 million new jobs, and formalisation 1 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“Make Pakistan an emerging economy that the world takes seriously and ‘Made in Pakistan’ be made a global brand so that Pakistan’s exports fly high.”
It may be noted that Pakistan has planned to boost exports to $60 billion by 2029-30 and to $100 billion in the next eight years.
“If we want to achieve sustainable growth, we have to link economic growth with exports. The surge in economic activities and in exports would go side by side to avoid artificial spikes in the economy and developments that kept crippling the economy in the past,” Planning minister said.
