{"id":13425,"date":"2025-07-12T18:05:24","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T18:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=13425"},"modified":"2025-07-12T18:05:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T18:05:24","slug":"pm-shehbaz-pledges-economic-turnaround-through-structural-reforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=13425","title":{"rendered":"PM Shehbaz pledges economic turnaround through structural reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government was committed to steering the country towards an economic turnaround through structural reforms, institutional changes, and a renewed focus on meritocracy, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Addressing a group of Pakistani students enrolled in leading international universities under the government\u2019s Uraan Pakistan Summer Scholars Programme, the prime minister said the coalition government had assumed office in 2023 at a time when the country was on the brink of default.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority believed Pakistan would default, while a small minority held hope that we might avoid it,\u201d he said, recalling his meetings with the IMF managing director where he assured Pakistan\u2019s commitment to stabilising the economy and completing the programme.<\/p>\n

Read More: Punjab speaker forms committee to address suspended PTI members’ references<\/p>\n

The premier said inflation had surged to 38 per cent and the policy rate stood at 22.5pc at that time, while business sentiment had plummeted. \u201cThe burden was immense, but we moved forward with sincerity and unity. Today, the policy rate has been brought down to below 11pc, and initiatives like Uraan Pakistan have taken off.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described the path ahead as \u201cchallenging\u201d, noting that successive governments had avoided undertaking structural reforms. \u201cWe must now commit to these long-overdue changes through sustained effort,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

\u0628\u0631\u0627\u06c1\u0650 \u0631\u0627\u0633\u062a: \u0648\u0632\u06cc\u0631\u0627\u0639\u0638\u0645 \u06a9\u06cc \u0627\u0646\u0679\u0631\u0646 \u0634\u067e \u067e\u0631\u0648\u06af\u0631\u0627\u0645 \u0627\u0691\u0627\u0646 \u067e\u0627\u06a9\u0633\u062a\u0627\u0646-\u0633\u0645\u0631 \u0627\u0633\u06a9\u0627\u0644\u0631\u0632 \u06a9\u06d2 \u0637\u0644\u0628\u0627\u0621 \u0633\u06d2 \u06af\u0641\u062a\u06af\u0648 https:\/\/t.co\/PA3qpznYCI
\n\u2014 Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 12, 2025<\/p>\n

Highlighting reforms within the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), he claimed that the government had acted decisively to remove corrupt officials without yielding to political pressure or the culture of sifarish.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreviously, digitisation efforts were confined to paperwork, manipulated by vested interests,\u201d he said, adding that his government had appointed competent individuals, including a new FBR chairman and expert consultants. \u201cToday, FBR\u2019s operations are increasingly digital, with AI-based tools and faceless interaction becoming the norm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also Read: Fazl urges political change in K-P, calls for shift from within PTI ranks<\/p>\n

As a result of enforcement efforts, he said, revenue collection in one sector alone had increased from Rs12 billion to over Rs50bn in a year, revealing the extent of past tax evasion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe face a long and thorny journey, with mountain-like challenges,\u201d the prime minister remarked. \u201cBut we will not shy away from our responsibilities. I believe in teamwork and accountability\u2014those who perform are recognised, and those who don\u2019t are shown the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said failure to meet economic goals was not an option. \u201cDelivery is the name of the game; performance is the name of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emphasising the importance of youth development, he said investment in young people was an investment in Pakistan\u2019s future. Responding to questions from students, the premier recalled launching merit-based scholarships in Punjab for underprivileged students during his tenure as chief minister.<\/p>\n

On climate change, the prime minister noted that Pakistan had suffered massive economic losses during the 2022 floods\u2014estimated at $30bn\u2014despite contributing only a negligible share to global emissions.<\/p>\n

Responding to another question, PM Shehbaz addressed recent tensions with India, stating that during May this year, Pakistan responded to \u201cuncalled aggression\u201d in the aftermath of the Pahalgam incident.<\/p>\n

Read More: SJC reviews 24 judicial complaints, dismisses 19<\/p>\n

He said Pakistan had proposed an international investigation into the matter, but India did not respond. \u201cAs a result of Indian aggression, 55 Pakistanis were martyred. We responded in self-defence by downing six Indian aircraft,\u201d he claimed, adding that on May 9 and 10, Pakistan had retaliated with full force.<\/p>\n

He lauded the armed forces for their professionalism and reiterated that Pakistan\u2019s nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes and national defence.<\/p>\n

The prime minister expressed confidence in the students selected under the Uraan Pakistan programme and extended best wishes for their academic and professional journeys.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government was committed to steering the country towards an economic turnaround through structural reforms, institutional changes, and a renewed focus on meritocracy, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Saturday. Addressing a group of Pakistani students enrolled in leading international universities under the government\u2019s Uraan Pakistan Summer Scholars Programme, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13425\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}