Islamabad: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal announced that the country's economy has moved towards stability during the first eight months of the fiscal year 2025-26 due to the coordinated macroeconomic policies of the government. He was speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad today related to the launch of the Monthly Development Report.
According to Radio Pakistan, the Minister emphasized efforts to ensure price stability through the regular meetings of the National Price Monitoring Committee, which maintained a steady supply of essential commodities across the country. He highlighted a significant decline in the prices of several essential food items, including eggs, chicken, and potatoes.
Ahsan Iqbal pointed out that the Large-Scale Manufacturing sector showed a sustained recovery during 2025-26, with an annual growth rate of 4.8%. Fourteen out of twenty-two sectors, such as automobiles, non-metallic mineral products, beverages, wearing apparel, food, textiles, and tobacco, recorded positive growth.
He revealed that tax collections reached 8.1 trillion rupees from July to February 2025-26, compared to 7.3 trillion rupees during the same period last year. The Minister also noted a rise in remittances by 11.3%, increasing from 20.9 billion dollars to 23.2 billion dollars from July to January 2026, reflecting the growing confidence of overseas Pakistanis in the government's economic policies.
Discussing the external sector, the Minister stated that exports of goods and services reached 24 billion dollars during Jul-Jan FY2025-26, while imports rose to 44.4 billion dollars. He explained that the increase in imports was driven by stronger demand for intermediate and capital goods, along with import tariff rationalization to reduce trade distortions and enhance competitiveness.
On the planning front, the Central Development Working Party approved four projects and recommended five projects to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, showcasing the government's dedication to advancing key development initiatives.
In terms of international engagements, the Minister shared updates on the implementation of the Five-Year Roadmap for enhanced economic cooperation between Pakistan and Kazakhstan, following their Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration on February 4, 2026.
Ahsan Iqbal called on every Pakistani to contribute to supporting economic stability, enabling the nation to overcome global economic challenges and emerge stronger from the current crisis.