EDITORIAL: The government’s five-year economic transformation plan, ‘Uraan Pakistan’, unveiled at the cusp of the new year, outlines some highly ambitious goals — turning Pakistan into a trillion-dollar economy by 2035, increasing annual exports to USD 60 billion by prioritising key sectors, achieving sustainable GDP growth rate of six percent by 2028, among a bunch of other targets.
Its success, however, will hinge on the ability and willingness of the rulers to address widespread structural challenges that have long afflicted the economy.
While the plan presents a clearly defined, all-encompassing agenda on paper, the real test will lie in whether the country’s economic managers have the capacity, acumen and authority to execute the necessary reforms, or whether they will once again be derailed by powerful forces bent upon pursuing their own agendas rather than prioritising collective well-being.
The official document of the plan focuses on what have been termed as the 5Es vital to achieving the objectives that have been set out: exports, e-Pakistan, environment and climate change, energy and infrastructure, and equity and empowerment.
While the export component of the plan envisages key sectors like IT, manufacturing, agriculture, minerals and the blue economy playing an important role, e-Pakistan envisions a thriving freelance industry, a sophisticated startup ecosystem and AI framework, and increased mobile connectivity.
The environment and climate change strategy focuses on reduced greenhouse gas emissions, increased water storage capacity and cultivable land, and enhanced disaster resilience efforts.
The government also aims to ensure affordable and reliable energy by increasing the share of renewable energy to 10 percent. Crucially, the goals under ‘equity and empowerment’ focus on universal health coverage, higher literacy rates, empowering women and youth, and ensuring good governance and justice for all.
In contrast to the catchy acronyms and plethora of high-sounding goals, the finance minister’s speech at the launch event for ‘Uraan Pakistan’ presented a more succinct version that cut through the rhetoric and emphasised the need to focus on three fundamental pillars: private sector-led investment, export-led growth, and optimising public finance.
He also reiterated the well-worn but entirely valid mantra of escaping boom-and-bust cycles and striving for sustainable growth.
And as he also very rightly pointed out, there is “no dearth of policy prescriptions in Pakistan”. That the economy has long been crying out for a comprehensive restructuring that allows us to break free from the corrosive rent-seeking model that has held us captive for decades, and move towards a more productive and inclusive economic framework is an undeniable reality.
However, even with a heightened understanding among the ruling class regarding what ails the economy, and the recommended solutions from experts and international lenders, there continue to be resistance and lack of political will to undertake the crucial task of overhauling the economy.
With international lenders growing increasingly impatient with the repeated mismanagement of the economy by successive governments, and ‘Uraan Pakistan’ now outlining a comprehensive implementation mechanism for vital economic restructuring, there are no longer any justifiable reasons for failing to act.
However, for this initiative to succeed, it is crucial to establish an enabling environment, starting with a competent and empowered economic team with the authority to drive reforms.
Public buy-in is equally important, as it ensures support for the necessary changes, which highlights the urgent need to address Pakistan’s democratic and governance deficits. This includes curbing the influence of vested interests and powerful forces that have long obstructed meaningful economic restructuring.
And most crucially, a stable political and security environment is essential, which underscores the need for far-reaching political reconciliation and the resolution of ongoing political frictions to create the conditions necessary for lasting reform.
Addressing these critical issues remains key to Pakistan unlocking the path to lasting economic stability and growth.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Comments