The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) on Budget 2026–27 met in Islamabad on Monday, with Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal chairing the session as the government reviewed development priorities, fiscal constraints and proposed allocations for the next financial year. Officials said the committee is expected to finalise key development priorities for FY2026–27, with a proposed Rs1,126 billion allocation for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) under consideration, alongside a suggested 4 per cent GDP growth target.
The meeting was attended by representatives of federal ministries and provincial governments, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Adviser Muzammil Aslam and Sindh Provincial Minister Jam Khan Shoro, who participated in the deliberations.
Speaking at the meeting, Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan’s development budget has remained largely stagnant over the past eight years, despite rising infrastructure and development needs.
He pointed out that Rs1,126 billion had been allocated under the PSDP for the current fiscal year, while a much larger financing requirement persists for ongoing projects.
According to the minister, around Rs10,000 billion are required to complete the existing development pipeline, which he said has expanded significantly in recent years. He added that a large portion of the national budget is currently being consumed by debt servicing, limiting fiscal space for development spending.
Iqbal noted that while provinces have strengthened their development spending capacity, the federal government continues to face resource constraints, leading to a widening gap between federal and provincial development budgets.
The minister said Pakistan’s total development pipeline has now reached nearly Rs10 trillion, with PC-1 proposals worth Rs5,000 billion currently under review.
He said the government had also prepared proposals worth Rs720 billion for new development schemes, but cautioned that non-essential projects may not be continued in the coming fiscal framework.
“Completing ongoing development projects remains the government’s top priority,” he said, stressing the need for focused allocation of limited resources.
Iqbal added that ministries had collectively demanded nearly Rs3,000 billion for development projects in the next fiscal year, but available fiscal space remains significantly lower.
He also highlighted that investment in development initiatives has declined over time, further constraining growth prospects.