Economic stabilisation visible in FY26, says Iqbal
Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal chairs a consultative meeting in Islamabad on producing two landmark historical web series on Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Muhammad Iqbal. SCREENGRAB
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan's economy has shown signs of stabilisation and is gradually moving toward recovery during the first eight months of fiscal year 2025-26.
Presenting the Monthly Development Update for February 2026, the minister said the improving trends reflected the impact of coordinated macroeconomic management aimed at restoring economic stability and sustaining growth.
According to the update, price stability remained a key priority of the government, with regular meetings of the National Price Monitoring Committee ensuring the supply of essential commodities across the country. Average inflation eased to 5.5% during July-February FY202-26 compared to 5.9% during the same period last year, while inflation in February 2026 stood at 7.0%.
Prices of several essential food items declined during the period, including eggs by 22.4%, chicken by 20.0% and potatoes by 16%. However, the minister cautioned that tensions in the Middle East and developments in global energy markets could pose risks for domestic inflation.
Iqbal noted that the region was currently facing a major oil crisis affecting both developed and developing economies. He said the coming months would determine how much oil prices might rise and urged citizens to adopt responsible consumption practices by avoiding unnecessary travel and using fewer vehicles where possible.
The Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM) sector also recorded improvement, posting 4.8% year-on-year growth during July-December FY2025-26. Fourteen out of 22 sectors recorded positive growth, including automobiles (67.2%), non-metallic mineral products (10.5%), beverages (5.4%), wearing apparel (7.5%), food (0.6%), textile (1.5%) and tobacco (8.7%).
Tax collections reached Rs8.1 trillion during July-February FY2025-26 compared with Rs7.3 trillion in the same period last year. Remittances from overseas Pakistanis increased by 11.3% to $23.2 billion during July-January FY2026, compared to $20.9 billion during the same period last year.