ISLAMABAD: The Naya Pakistan Housing Program (NPHP), which is described as the cornerstone Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s economic uplift strategy for the country, may fall short of addressing the housing crisis unless it makes some critical adjustments, claims a working paper published by public policy think tank Tabadlab on Thursday.

Authored by residential real estate financing expert Ibrahim Khalil and public policy advisor Umar Nadeem, the paper questions the high focus on low-income groups in a program that relies heavily on conventional bank mortgage.

It points out that the NPHP is targeting households with a combined income of less than Rs 60,000. With 68 percent of Pakistan’s urban working population employed in the informal sector of the economy, there is a high likelihood that the target low-income groups of the NPHP largely consist of families with unverifiable or steady sources of income.

Coupling this fact with existing banking regulations for housing finance, which requires income history, repayment capacity assessment, and future income prospects, a large section of the program’s target groups will not qualify. This, the authors contend, puts the entire program at risk.

The working paper suggests that the government must provide favorable mortgage financing for middle-income groups, including Shariah compliant instruments, that can potentially trigger the growth in housing supply that is a key objective of the NPHP.

It also insists that urban planning reform is vital to the effective realization of the NPHP dream. Other than that, the NPHP prefers low to mid-rise developments. As recently acknowledged by Prime Minister Imran Khan, however, high-rise developments are the preferred route to tackle rising urbanization and the current housing unit shortage.

The working paper notes that high-rise developments also stay the increasing urban sprawl being witnessed throughout the country. Concentrated residential developments also conveniences access to essential needs like transport, employability, and basic public services.