Development plan to be reviewed every quarter

The federal government has decided to conduct quarterly reviews of the Annual Development Plan (ADP) to strengthen planning, monitoring and implementation, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said on Thursday.

The decision was announced during the Mid-Year Review Meeting of the Annual Plan 2025-26, chaired by the Iqbal and attended by secretaries of all ministries and divisions, senior officials, members of the Planning Commission and provincial representatives, according to an official statement.

Iqbal said the ADP, traditionally reviewed on an annual basis at the time of the budget, would now be assessed quarterly to ensure timely achievement of national economic targets and improved ministerial performance. He said governance was not only about delivery but also about building institutional capacity to meet current goals and improve future outcomes.

The minister said the ADP serves as a guiding framework for the economy and a pathway towards achieving five-year development objectives. He added that the targets of the current five-year plans had been aligned with the URAAN Pakistan framework, under which the government aims to transform Pakistan into a one trillion-dollar economy by 2035. Emphasising federal-provincial coordination, Iqbal noted that following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, most social and economic sectors fall under provincial jurisdiction. He identified agriculture, services, information technology and the social sector as key drivers of growth, stressing that productivity improvements were essential for sustainable economic expansion.

He said a series of review meetings would follow, focusing on detailed analysis of economic indicators. Ministries would present progress against assigned targets and propose corrective measures to address implementation gaps, with performance-based reports to be submitted to the prime minister. During the meeting, Chief Economist Dr Imtiaz Ahmad briefed participants on first-half progress and challenges, highlighting flood-related losses estimated at Rs822 billion. He said around 6.5 million people were affected, with over one thousand fatalities, while 3.3 million acres of crops and key infrastructure were damaged.

He added that a comprehensive post-flood analytical report, being prepared with development partners, is expected to be completed by the end of next month.