Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a high-level committee to consider the imposition of an export emergency aimed at doubling Pakistan’s exports to $60 billion within four years.
This was stated by Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal during a press conference. According to Ahsan Iqbal, the committee will be headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and will review proposals related to boosting exports before presenting final recommendations to the Prime Minister next week.
The federal minister said that last month, the Ministry of Planning had given a detailed briefing to the civil and military leadership on ending reliance on the IMF. The briefing included proposals to raise exports to $60 billion within four years and $100 billion over the next decade.
He noted that due to weak performance by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), both federal and provincial governments are under financial pressure. Despite paying 47 percent fewer refunds in December, the FBR still faced a tax shortfall of Rs 330 billion. As a result, the release of the development budget was delayed, and only Rs 210 billion, or 21 percent of the annual budget, was spent in the first half of the fiscal year.
Ahsan Iqbal warned that if exports do not increase substantially, Pakistan will once again have to approach friendly countries or the IMF for assistance. Pakistan currently owes around $13 billion in short-term loans taken from friendly countries.
He also proposed making national holidays optional for export-oriented industries with workers’ consent, as holidays disrupt export cycles and cause losses worth millions. Additionally, it has been recommended that the Prime Minister personally patronize the top 200 companies with high export potential.
The Ministry of Planning has also recommended that the Board of Investment be directed to accelerate the establishment of special and industrial zones, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Commerce to transform diplomatic missions into trade hubs, and overseas Pakistanis to be made partners in investment and export growth.
Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan faces two choices: continue with business as usual and grow the economy to $600 billion by 2035, or adopt ambitious targets and strive to become a $1 trillion economy. He pointed out that over the past 24 years, Pakistan’s exports have increased by only 4.1 times.
He claimed that the economy has stabilized, with GDP growth of 3.7 percent in the first quarter, stabilization in inflation, and 5 percent growth in large-scale manufacturing during the first four months of the fiscal year.
