Pakistan exports target is $35bn with 4.2pc growth rate in 2025-26: Ahsan Iqbal  

ISLAMABAD: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Monday said Pakistan was eyeing a $35 billion exports target for 2025-26 with a growth rate of 4.2 per cent.

Talking to the media after attending a ceremony in the federal capital, the minister said remittances had witnessed a $10 billion increase.

On the other hand, he said there was an urgent need to address the issues related to climate change and water.

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The government would try to achieve the set targets by improving governance and had already saved billions of rupees through effective measures, said the planning minister.

TAX NET

At the same time, Ahsan said that the revenue collection had witnessed a surge of 26 per cent during the current fiscal year.

With reference to an abysmal tax-to-GDP ratio, which is one of the lowest in the world, the federal minister stressed the need to improve the situation.

Expanding the tax net is necessary to provide health, education and other basic services to the people, he noted after promising to increase Pakistan exports.

About the importance of a strong economy, Ahsan described a robust economy as a prerequisite for a strong defence.

DEVELOPMENT BUDGET

He said the initial estimate of development budget stood at Rs1,000 billion. Out of the total, an amount of Rs664 billion would be allocated for infrastructure projects, he added.   

Ahsan said the allocation for social sector was Rs150 billion, with another reserved for Rs70 billion for the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as Rs64 for Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The development programme for Balochistan would get Rs250 billion, he said about the province which is badly hit by terrorism amid the Indian support for different proxies.