Ahsan Iqbal highlights development priorities, says Balochistan put on accelerated path

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Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said Thursday that Rs 230 billion has been allocated in the Federal Budget 2025-26 for the development of Balochistan.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday, the Minister said that according to the directives of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the development of Balochistan is being considered a national responsibility.

The move aims to change the province’s social and economic landscape through target investment in important infrastructure projects to improve communication projects in the next two years.

One of the important points of the development project is the N-25 Chaman Quetta-Karachi Highway, for which Rs 100 billion has been allocated.

It is expected that the project will be completed within two to three years and will work as a strategic transit. In addition, work will also be accelerated on M8 and several other regional infrastructure schemes, which aims to enhance communication, promote investment, and ensure comprehensive development.

Ahsan said, with the growing concerns over the use of water as a geographical political tool, the government linked the water sector to great importance, and emphasized the urgent need to complete important reserves to protect Pakistan’s water protection.

He said that India has tried to use water as a weapon. Although Pakistan cannot legally stop the water of Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) – nor will it be allowed – it can try to disrupt the flow.

To counter potential risks and ensure long -term flexibility, the government is moving fast to complete Qatar Bhasha and Mohammad Dams, respectively, with a capacity of 6 million acre feet and about 1 million acre feet respectively, which has increased the total capacity of about 7 million acre feet.

The Minister acknowledged that the hard -working financial space driven by structural barriers has reduced its ability to fund development projects under the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP).

He said that the development budget has dropped from 2.6 % of GDP to only 0.8 % in 2017-18-this trend is described as a serious structural concern for national development.

In search of ahead, the government aims to meet development and other costs through domestic resources, however, to achieve this goal, Pakistan’s tax is required to increase the GDP ratio to at least 16 %-this level is already maintained by regional allies.

He said that while talking about the performance of the economy, the country’s economic change was the result of politically unpopular decisions by the coalition government led by Premier Shahbaz, which aims to ensure long -term stability.

He said that when the PDM government came to power, many people predicted that it would continue for only a few weeks.

“These were the brave leadership of the Prime Minister and strict economic measures that saved Pakistan from the end,” he said, adding that these reforms were at the expense of political capital but they were essential for the national interest.

Iqbal highlighted the challenges facing the alliance, including the devastating 2022 floods, causing a loss of more than $ 30 billion.

“Despite the crisis, we have continued to finance development,” he accused the former ruling party-Pakistan Tahrik E-Nisf (PTI).

Iqbal noted a series of positive economic indicators: inflation by 4 %, policy rate decreased from 23 % to 11 %, and a stock market at a height. He added that international organizations have recognized the recovery of Pakistan, global journals have called it a “miracle change”.

As a result of tax reforms, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collection has increased a record 29 %. Development costs also increased sharply, with a 50 % increase in fiscal year 2025-26 to Rs 2.832 trillion to Rs 4.224 trillion, which supports better provincial allocation.

Financial discipline has improved, including energy sector reforms, reorganization of subsidies and problems with IPP. The government is now focusing on domestic resources, better exports, and increasing remittances, which has increased from $ 27 billion to $ 37 billion.

He said that the government’s development plan, branded Uran Pakistan, is already taking fruits and in the coming financial year, GDP growth has increased from 2.7 percent to 4.2 percent.

Iqbal emphasized that Pakistan’s economy must increase exports and increase revenue in order to step on the path of sustainable development and free from repeated booms and broken cycles.