Islamabad: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal has stressed the need to prioritize and complete ongoing development projects. Addressing the Annual Plan Coordination Committee meeting for the 2026-27 budget, he highlighted that the country's development budget is insufficient to finance projects promptly, describing the situation as a major challenge for the planning process.

According to Radio Pakistan, Ahsan Iqbal emphasized that the government would need to increase development spending in the long run while ensuring that priority projects are completed and subsequently removed from the development portfolio. He noted that Pakistan's economy is on a path to recovery and reaffirmed the government's commitment to providing relief to the common man through effective development planning.

Highlighting the scale of the challenge, the Minister for Planning and Development pointed out that the federal development portfolio carries a throw-forward of around ten trillion rupees, while ministries have sought nearly four trillion rupees for ongoing projects.