'Uraan Pakistan': PM Shehbaz urges 'political harmony' to achieve ambitious economic targets

"Today is a great day," PM Shehbaz said in his opening remarks while addressing the ceremony in Islamabad on Tuesday.

The premier said that they have just listen to a "remarkable and brillinat" narration from the finance minister, planning minister and deputy prime minister along way very informative presentation.

"The crux is that in the last nine months we negotiated huge challanges and difficulties and through untiring efforts of the federal government provincial governments and our international partners and friends, we have been able to achieve macro economic stability but this is just the beginning of a long journey which would entail sacrifice, blood and sweat to achieve ecnomic growth and finding our lost place among nations," he added. 

The premier stressed that this requires Pakistan to put its hands together and march forward with unity of thought and action.

He also congratulated Ahsan Iqbal, Muhammad Aurangzeb and the entire federal cabinet and federal officials, sceretairies, SIFC, and provincial chief minsiters and the governments for their "great support and cooperation to carve out this homegrown programme."

"During the journey from default to development and from stable economy to strong economy, we witnessed several phases and faced difficulties," he said.

"When Pakistan was on the verge of collapse, we under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, and our coalition partners agreed that they would sacrifice their politics for national interest," he said.

In 2023, the prime minister said, when the government was making all-out efforts to secure an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme but "letters were penned down for obstructing it". However, he added, the goverment successfully acheived the IMF programme and the rest if history.

He noted that the government also secured another IMF programme, which he reiterated, would be the last of the country. 

PM Shehbaz said that it was a moment to mull why the country had to resort to another IMF package, pointing out the losses of state-owned enterprises, the circular deficit and corruption. 

Speaking of the "Uraan Pakistan" programme, the premier highlighted that having achieved macroeconomic stability, the all-out focus would be on boosting growth through targeted investment and reforms.

However, he said the success of the five-year plan which specifically focuses the development in IT, agriculture, exports and mining and mineral sectors was linked with national unity and political harmony and collective efforts by all stakeholders, including political parties, institutions, and the people.

He vowed to make the focused efforts on increasing the annual investment in various sectors to $10 billion. Over the next five years, he said the government’s key priority will be to stimulate economic growth especially through exports, he added.

"The government has achieved the macro-economic stability due to teamwork of the federal cabinet, the deputy prime minister, provincial chief ministers, and the institutions,” he said adding he never experienced this kind of cooperation that he received from the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS).

He told the gathering that the government would create a conducive environment and incentivise the private sector to promote the export-oriented industry as the "export-led growth will be the pivot of Uraan Pakistan for being the ultimate savior for the Pakistan economy."

He regretted that a huge chunk of the country’s resources went to waste annually due to corruption, leakages in electricity and gas, and lack of reforms in various sectors.

Similarly, he said the state-owned entities incurred losses of Rs6 trillion during the last one decade, while the electricity and gas sectors had circular debts of around two to three trillion rupees.

Highlighting the positive macroeconomic indicators he mentioned inflation eased to 5%, average exports increase by 10%, a surge in remittances by 24%, and IT export boosted by 34% during last five months, besides the policy rate decline to 13%.

Calling "solar name of the game", he emphasised the importance of clean and affordable energy sources and a special focus on solar energy.

He said Pakistan could regain its lost glory through self-introspection, learning lessons from past mistakes, and marching forward as Team Pakistan with unity of thoughts and actions.

He also defended his government’s re-negotiation with independent power producers (IPPs) saying that it was time the elite class also sacrificed for the country.

'Improving economic indicators'

At the outset of the ceremony, the finance minister — while addressing the participants — said that the country was on the path of development under the leadership of PM Shehbaz Sharif, expressing satisfaction over the macroeconomic indicators.

He pointed out that the Karachi Interbank Offered Rate (Kibor), a benchmark rate for lending to consumers and businesses, is close to 12%, which he said was helping the private sector.

"The country is receiving direct foreign investment at a rapid pace," he said, emphasising the importance of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) for securing investment.

Furthermore, he said, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is setting records day by day and has become the second largest market in the world, while the inflation rate has come down from 38% to 5%.

Aurangzeb said that the incumbent government was not mulling planning but implementing. "The Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) transformation is being carried out," he said, saying that they will stabilise the export-oriented economy.

He added that the country was heading towards stable growth.

Speaking of the tax system, the finance minister said that the authorities were carrying out reforms in tax policy, which according to him, was being separated with tax collection. "The Tax Policy Unit will be run with the help of the government and the private sector," he said, stressing the need to "stop the leakage of taxes".

He also said the country would achieve more than 6% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by 2028. "Pakistan has achieved an account surplus after 24 years," he added.

The minister concluded by stressing that the private sector has to drive the country and "we have to stand up as a nation".

What is 'Uraan Pakistan'?

In a statement, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said that the Uraan Pakistan is an all inclusive agenda through which the journey of economic development will be undertaken. He said this economic reforms agenda is for the development of Pakistan and its people.

He stated that Pakistan has moved from the verge of default to stability and is now on the path to progress.

According to its website, Uraan Pakistan is a transformative initiative designed to spotlight and advance crucial projects and reforms set forth in the 5Es National Economic Transformation Plan. The strategy aims to rejuvenate Pakistan’s economy, promote sustainable development, and drive inclusive growth.

The 5Es Plan is central to URAAN Pakistan’s objectives, addressing five critical areas essential for Pakistan’s development which are:

Exports: Enhancing the export sector to drive economic growth, increase foreign exchange earnings, and boost the country’s global trade position.

E-Pakistan: Accelerating digital transformation to enhance operational efficiency, promote innovation, and improve Pakistan's competitiveness on the global stage.

Enviroment and Climate Change: Implementing sustainable practices to address climate change, protect natural resources, and ensure water and food security for long-term ecological balance.

Energy and Infrastructure: Developing affordable, efficient, and green energy solutions to support industrial growth, reduce energy costs, and ensure energy security.

Equity and Empowerment: Promoting social justice by ensuring that all segments of society benefit from economic progress.

The initiative aims to address these challenges through the 5Es framework, providing short- to mid-term solutions for Pakistan’s economic stabilisation and growth.