Pakistan economic and technological development initiatives

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has initiated a series of directives aimed at stimulating Pakistan’s economic growth through targeted financial support and technological development.

Initially, the Prime Minister focused on increasing loan accessibility for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the agricultural sector. He emphasized that SMEs are the “backbone of the national economy” and called on the State Bank to simplify approval and payment procedures to assist farmers and businesses. He noted that agricultural financing is a “critical necessity” for food security and economic stability.

Following these directives, the scope of economic support expanded to include specific quantitative targets and technological infrastructure. The Prime Minister ordered the SME financing target to be doubled to Rs2.2 trillion by 2028. To facilitate this, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) was tasked with improving awareness and helping entrepreneurs navigate banking requirements. New initiatives include creating sector-specific feasibility studies in local languages, establishing an AI-based helpline, and a memorandum of understanding with Alibaba to provide training to 10,000 SMEs over the next two years.

To support technological infrastructure, the government aims to transform the Daanish IT Park in Islamabad into a “globally recognized technology hub” and convert 50 buildings into Software Technology Parks.

Parallel to these SME initiatives, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is implementing tax monitoring reforms. The FBR aims to have monitoring systems fully operational across 18 industrial sectors by December 31, 2026. Equipment is already installed in the sugar, cement, tobacco, tiles, and fertilizer sectors, with expansion underway into the textile, packaged water, juice, and milk industries to improve revenue collection and curb tax evasion.