Iqbal highlights development priorities

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday acknowledged that tight fiscal space, driven by structural constraints, has reduced its ability to fund development projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

At a news conference, he said the development budget has declined from 2.6% of GDP in 2017-18 to just 0.8% — a trend described as a serious structural concern for national development.

He said the government aims to meet development and other expenditures through domestic resources, however, achieving this goal requires raising Pakistan's tax-to-GDP ratio to at least 16% — a level already maintained by regional peers.