Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif digitally launches PSDP data portal in Islamabad. Photo: APP
ISLAMABAD:
Underlining the importance of the government’s entire approach to address the outstanding economic challenges, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday urged all stakeholders to advance the path of economic growth with collective efforts.
Speaking at the inaugural session of ‘Pakistan Governance Forum 2026’, the Prime Minister lamented that the country was suffering from power theft of Rs 200 billion and only whole-of-government approach could address this problem.
Emphasizing the need for collective efforts in the economic sector, the Prime Minister said, “Though the journey may be long, arduous and thorny, we have accepted the challenge. Pakistan will soon carve its rightful place.”
The Prime Minister further reiterated that it was not the government’s job to do business, but it had to facilitate the private sectors, exporters and investors and support their efforts in productivity and growth.
The government is encouraging exporters, investors and entrepreneurs with various incentives, he added.
He said that the country was blessed with immense resources and expressed confidence that with joint efforts and strong will within a few years, Pakistan would leave behind different countries in terms of economic strength.
The prime minister also underlined the need to improve the tax net and said that currently, due to different initiatives, the country’s tax to GDP had reached 10.5 per cent.
He highlighted the importance of growth and production, exports and investment, FDI and overall reduction in indirect taxes in the upcoming fiscal budget.
The Prime Minister regretted that indirect taxes collected from consumers and end users were not deposited with the government, which was a huge injustice to the nation.
He said the tax increase was also achieved in the sugar, cement and tobacco sector.
The IT sector had seen a growth of 34 per cent, but it had more potential and he emphasized on utilizing the large number of youth, saying that they should be imparted technical and vocational experience and training because IT and AI-led initiatives would transform all other sectors in the country.
He also thanked the Planning Minister of Uran Pakistan and the entire system of government that would prove successful.
Minister of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal in his speech said that the forum was designed to reach viable solutions after holding discussions and sharing perspectives for future economic progress.
He said a good governance system is formed by setting goals and efforts to achieve them, adding that good governance should be merit-based, transparent and citizen-centric.
The minister said Uraan Pakistan was launched with the same objective and would serve as a transitional role for the country’s economy.
He said that in the last two years, the incumbent government had brought the country back from the brink of bankruptcy.
Ahsan Iqbal said that the transformation path, if adopted with full capacity and given positive synergy, Pakistan would have a $1 trillion economy by 2035.
