GWADAR: Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the Naya Pakistan Housing program — his government’s flagship project — in Quetta on Sunday.
Speaking on the occasion, he said he was happy that the scheme would also have housing units for the poor fishermen of province.
The federal government will build 135,000 housing units in the first phase of the mega five-million housing program: 25,000 of these apartments will be constructed in Islamabad for federal government employees while 110,000 apartments will be built in Balochistan for the fishermen of Gwadar.
“I am happy that we are making most of the houses for these poor fishermen,” Khan said while addressing the inauguration ceremony.
“It has become difficult for salaried individuals to build houses today,” he continued. “Keeping that in mind, we have launched this program.”
Bringing Chief Minister Jam Kamal’s attention to the sprawling Quetta city, the prime minister stressed the need for a master plan for Balochistan’s capital to keep it from expanding further.
Describing the state of Madinah as his governance benchmark, Khan said that his government would spend more on Balochistan and focus its attention on the underdeveloped parts of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces since they lagged behind the rest of the country.
Discussing the overall economic situation of Pakistan, he said that the country spent nearly half of the collected tax amount on repaying its loans.
“Out of the Rs4500 billion of taxes that we collect annually, Rs2000 billion are consumed on our loan installments,” he said, noting that he was hopeful the situation would gradually improve since foreign investment was now coming to the country.
“China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are investing [in Pakistan]. We are also expecting investment from Malaysia and are negotiating with Turkey,” he added.
Earlier, the prime minister was received at the airport by Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal and Governor Amanullah Khan Yasinzai.
During his brief visit to the city, he also met with the bereaved family members of those who lost their lives in the Hazarganji market terrorist attack on April 12.
PM inaugurates new housing scheme for Gwadar fishermen
PM inaugurates new housing scheme for Gwadar fishermen
- Around 110,000 housing units will be built in Balochistan for the fishermen
- He also met with the bereaved families of Hazarganji market attack victims
Government says Pakistan’s IT exports hit record monthly high in December
- Finance adviser says IT exports crossed $400 million for first time in a month
- Pakistan aims to double exports to $60 billion in four years, with IT a key driver
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information technology exports climbed to a record $437 million in December, crossing the $400 million mark for the first time on a monthly basis, the government’s finance adviser Khurram Schehzad said in a social media post on Monday.
The surge underscores the growing role of the tech sector as Pakistan seeks to boost exports while emerging from a prolonged economic crisis that drained foreign exchange reserves, widened balance-of-payments pressures and weakened the currency.
The government is now aiming for export-led growth as part of broader structural reforms under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.
“December 2025 exports reached $437 million — crossing $400 million in a month for the first time ever,” Schehzad said in a post on X, adding that this represented 23 percent month-on-month growth from November and 26 percent year-on-year growth compared with December 2024.
For the first half of the current fiscal year, IT exports reached $2.24 billion, up 20 percent from a year earlier, making the sector the largest and most consistent contributor within services exports, he said.
Pakistan has been under pressure to sharply lift exports as it works to stabilize its economy.
Earlier this month, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the country must double its exports to $60 billion within four years or risk returning to the IMF.
Pakistan’s IT exports have been on a steady upward trajectory in recent years. They reached a record $3.8 billion in the 2024–25 financial year, according to official data.
The momentum has carried into the current fiscal year, with IT exports posting 19 percent year-on-year growth during the first five months from July to November.
Exports during the period stood at $1.8 billion, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan.
The government has said it sees the technology sector as a key driver of foreign exchange earnings and job creation as Pakistan seeks to lock in recent macroeconomic gains and attract new investment.
