'New 5-year plan to focus on jobs creation'

The Planning and Development Ministry believed a falling economic growth, less employment opportunities low productivity and difficulties in attracting investment were the biggest challenges in the country's progress.

Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Planning and Development, officials cited the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programmes as the major cause of slow growth and stated that independent policy-making would remain a problem as long as the country remained in IMF programme.

The senate committee met here with its chairperson Quratul Ain Marri in the chair. During the meeting, the planning ministry officials briefed the members on the draft of the proposed the 13th five-year plan 2024-29. They said that consultations with the provinces on the plan were currently under way.

The officials said that the focus of the five-year plan would be on employment generation. They said that a declining economic growth, low employment, low production, difficulties in investment, structural and macroeconomic imbalances, lack of skilled manpower were also key challenges.

According to the officials, the country needed 6 to 7% annual economic growth to provide employment. They stated that Pakistan's youth population was growing, but employment opportunities did not commensurate with the increase.

They cited IMF programmes as the major cause of slow economic growth. "We are in the IMF programme," a senior ministry official said. "As long as the IMF programme remains, independent policy-making will remain a problem, the official added.

The committee was informed that the cut in the development funds had always come in the social sector. The five-year plan, the officials said, prioritised an end to gender disparity, promotion of environment and tourism sectors and increase in quality human resource and targeted subsidy.

They continued that development of human capital was necessary for economic development, adding that special attention would be paid to skills development. They underscored the importance of increasing the country's overall exports.

The officials warned that Pakistan's population growth presented a dire scenario. They said that the annual rate of population growth was 2.55%, adding that for every 1% increase in the population, 2% economic growth would be required for sustainable progress.

The committee expressed concern that the issue of a rapidly growing population had not been incorporated in the five-year plan. "We have to control population growth but there is no mention of it in the new Five-Year Plan," the chair noted.