Uraan Pakistan: Shehbaz Sharif's ambitious blueprint for economic revival

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has launched a five-year plan to help propel Pakistan out of the economic quagmire it finds itself bogged down in. According to Dawn, the PM aims to address chronic economic issues by focusing on the five ‘E’s of the economy.

The five ‘E’s are exports, e-Pakistan, environment, energy, equity and empowerment. The plan, which has been named ‘Uraan Pakistan’, was launched in the presence of notable federal ministers and representatives of all four of Pakistan’s provinces.

This plan was unveiled soon after it was revealed that the first quarter of the FY 2024-25 posted an abysmally low 0.92 per cent growth rate, which represents a sharp fall from the 2.3 per cent growth recorded in the same period last year. Islamabad is attempting to revive the economy in light of the subpar statistics that have emerged.

At the event, Sharif highlighted his government’s priorities, pledging to increase economic growth by boosting exports. In November 2024, Sharif had already begun to consider a roadmap to boost exports as he began working on possible ways to boost Pakistan’s IT exports to $25 billion.

Boosting exports is an excellent initiative, as it will also bring an influx of foreign reserves to cash-strapped Pakistan. Aside from exports, though, Sharif also outlined the need for macroeconomic stability. He claimed that from this point onward, the government would attempt to boost growth by relying on investment and policy reforms.

He reiterated the importance of the IT sector in the success of the five-year plan. Moreover, Sharif linked industries related to agriculture, exports, mining, and minerals to national unity itself.

The premier highlighted the need for political harmony and all stakeholders, including political parties, key institutions, and the general public.

Sharif aims to support his economic revival plan by creating an environment that is friendly towards business activities. To achieve this, the private sector will be offered incentives, which the PM hopes will support export-oriented industries.

The transformation plan that was unveiled will attempt to boost Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a whopping one trillion dollars by 2035. However, Pakistan’s GDP stands at just $374.6 billion.

Dawn News reports that the plan aims to achieve $60 billion in annual exports from the IT, manufacturing, agriculture, mineral, manpower and blue economy sectors.

Despite indirectly blaming the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI) for being responsible for economic mismanagement, Sharif wanted political reconciliation to take place.