THE first step under the Uraan Pakistan initiative is to increase exports to 60 billion dollars annually within the next five years. Additionally, the programme aims to achieve a 6% GDP growth rate during the same period. A key target is to elevate the information technology freelancing industry to five billion dollars annually by training 200,000 IT graduates each year.
Another ambitious goal includes a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions within five years. Efforts will also focus on expanding cultivable land by over 20% and enhancing water storage capacity by up to 10 million hectare feet. In the energy sector, renewable energy’s share is set to rise to 10%, while the poverty rate is projected to drop to 13%. Large-scale development projects, executed through public-private partnerships to foster public participation, form an integral part of this comprehensive initiative.
The situation demands that ways of reconciliation should be taken into account keeping in mind the country’s interests. Effort should be made to save the middle and poor classes from further burden and take measures to help them cope. If the country wants to move forward, the elite will have to make some sacrifices.
Uraan Pakistan is, in a way, a roadmap of economic journey, in which along with the determination of the way forward, guidance is also given in many matters including the destination. It is good that in this way, a broad-based commitment like “Covenant Economy” also comes out, which will further strengthen the hope of good days for the nation suffering from problems for years. In the past, five-year plans also brought good results, but later there were situations in which such programs could not be implemented, while there are countries in the world that have economic, strategic, global and internal strategies for a period of more than a hundred years.
The current spirit of government and institutions working together is creating a good and positive impact. May this partnership continue. The newly introduced plan covers a period of five years. “Uraan Pakistan Plan” will make Pakistan one of the biggest countries during the next three years. No obstacle should be tolerated in the way of economic development. The current government has overcome many challenges and difficulties during the last nine months and has achieved stability of the economy. This journey of success can be faster if the opposition parties also support it. Everyone has to cooperate for the success of the ongoing discussion.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange is at its most positive level in 22 years, the best performance in the entire world. Pakistan Stock Exchange is the second best performing stock exchange in the world and the first in Asia. A historic decline of nine percent on the way to improve investment climate, the policy rate was brought down from 22 percent to 13 percent.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the economic conditions of Pakistan are exceeding the expectations of international organizations today. An economy exposed to risks of default is among the most stable economies now. Inflation is at an 18-month low of 4.1 percent. The inflation rate in December 2023 was at 29.7%. In the first 6 months of FY25, the economy has gone from stability to strength. In the first 5 months of FY25, remittances from foreign countries are at an ideal level of $15 billion. Remittances are expected to touch $35 billion by the end of FY25.
In the first half of the current financial year, exports recorded an increase of 10.52% and imports increased by 6.11%. Exports increased by 10.52 percent in the first six months of the current financial year, while in December 2024, an increase of 0.67 percent was recorded on an annual basis. In the first 6 months of this financial year, imports recorded an increase of 6.11 percent. Under Uraan Pakistan, five economic goals have been set in the long term up to the year 2035. For example, a target of six percent increase in the country’s growth rate has been set in the next five years. In the next 10 years (by 2035), the target has been set to take the size of the Gross National Product (GDP) to one trillion dollars. The first objective is to create an export-oriented economy, the second is to bring about a digital revolution in the country, and the third is to deal with climate change and its effects. The fourth sector to focus on is energy and infrastructure, while the fifth is building an equity-based society.
—The writer is author of several books based in Islamabad.
