The federal government has released details of a five-year development plan — the Uraan Pakistan — estimated at Rs17 trillion, whose objective, according to Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, is to make Pakistan economically self-sufficient.
Under the plan, the federal share will be Rs7 trillion, while the provinces will contribute Rs10 trillion.
Ahsan Iqbal said the target is to transform Pakistan into a $3 trillion economy by 2047. For this, the development budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26 has been set at Rs4.2 trillion. Under the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), the government has allocated Rs1 trillion in federal funding.
The government has allocated Rs33 billion for the Diamer-Bhasha Dam; Rs35 billion for the Mohmand Dam; Rs100 billion for the Quetta-Karachi Highway; Rs25 billion for the Indus Highway; Rs15 billion for the Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway and Rs10 billion for Karachi's K-IV water project.
In the education sector, the government has earmarked Rs9 billion for Danish Schools and Rs4.3 billion for the Prime Minister's Skills Programme. It has allocated Rs1 billion for the treatment of Hepatitis C and Rs800 million for diabetes.
The government has reduced the number of federal projects for the next five years from 1,071 to 800, eliminating low-priority and inactive projects. This reduction is expected to save the national exchequer Rs2.73 trillion. The federal development portfolio has now been limited to Rs12.8 trillion.
The government has also established national centers for nanotechnology, quantum computing, and new industries, laying the foundation for the creation of a 'Quantum Valley' in Pakistan.
According to the report, inflation dropped from 11.8% to 3.5% by May 2025 while the current account surplus reached $1.9 billion. Remittances also increased by 31%, reaching a total of $31.2 billion and the fiscal deficit decreased from 3.7% to 2.6%
By eliminating unnecessary projects, the government saved Rs5.4 billion in April alone and 27 projects were approved or proposed in May 2025.
The planning minister said 210 out of 240 PSDP projects have been thoroughly evaluated. Consultations regarding development partnerships were held with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the World Bank.
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