ISLAMABAD (Nazrana Times): Senior Pakistani political leaders and economic experts have called for people-centred reforms, empowered local governments, fair taxation and fundamental governance changes to achieve sustained and equitable economic growth.

The recommendations emerged at a high-level dialogue titled “Reforms for Growth in Pakistan: From Priorities to Delivery”, held during the 29th Sustainable Development Conference organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). Participants examined taxation, public expenditure, local governance, exports and the quality of public services.

Reforms must begin with constitutional governance

Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan said meaningful reform must begin with adherence to the Constitution, the rule of law and the authority of elected representatives. He said unpredictable governance, political victimisation and excessive regulation had discouraged investment, while education and public services remained neglected.

National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue Chairman Syed Naveed Qamar called for fiscal discipline supported by political consensus and meaningful consultation. He said expenditure pressures, debt servicing and a narrow tax base could not be addressed through isolated measures.

Qamar questioned why the Council of Common Interests was not being used more effectively to address matters involving the federation and provinces.

Provinces must transfer powers and resources to districts

National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatisation Chairman Dr Farooq Sattar said the 18th Amendment and National Finance Commission (NFC) Award had strengthened provinces without ensuring a comparable transfer of powers and resources to districts.

He called for elected, fiscally empowered local governments, predictable district allocations and stronger participation in local economic planning. He suggested considering district financing within the NFC’s constitutional remit alongside Provincial Finance Commission mechanisms.

Sattar also advocated a long-term, cross-party development consensus and consideration of possible new administrative units.

Education, healthcare and spending quality are essential

Former finance minister and Awaam Pakistan Secretary-General Dr Miftah Ismail said better education, healthcare and the quality of provincial expenditure were essential to growth.

He called for a review of electricity’s fixed and variable cost structure, including consideration of a two-part tariff with separate fixed and consumption-based components.

Ismail said a durable exit from IMF dependence required lower fiscal and external deficits and stronger export earnings rather than optimistic deadlines.

Former federal minister Engineer Khurram Dastagir Khan said manufacturers in industrial centres such as Gujranwala were discouraged from expanding by burdensome tax administration, expensive electricity and gas, and regulatory compliance costs.

He identified technology, transparency and competition as necessary principles and called for an end to monopoly arrangements.

Responsibility, authority and accountability must align

Former finance minister Asad Umar said Pakistan could not achieve sustainable growth or move beyond repeated IMF programmes without reducing deficits and building an export-competitive economy.

He said an effective state was essential, but responsibility, authority and accountability needed to rest together.

Former federal minister for maritime affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi argued that higher tax rates were no substitute for controlling government costs and eliminating institutional inefficiencies.

He urged changes to an outdated administrative system, supported by fair justice, stronger accountability and greater investment in citizens.

Calls for a fairer tax burden

Muzzammil Aslam, former finance adviser to the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, identified exemptions in property, agriculture and other revenue categories as obstacles to broadening tax collection.

Recalling provincial reforms, he said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s own-source revenue had increased from approximately Rs65 billion to Rs150 billion while rates were reduced and transactions were increasingly digitised.

Former finance minister Professor Dr Hafiz Ahmed Pasha called for comprehensive and progressive tax reform. He said salaried employees and large-scale manufacturers faced a disproportionate burden, while property, retail and wholesale trade, and agricultural incomes remained undertaxed.

He estimated that a more equitable tax base could generate additional revenue equivalent to 3–3.5 per cent of GDP, creating room for development spending and reducing borrowing needs.

Budget and trade deficits identified as core problems

Former adviser to the Sindh chief minister Dr Kaiser Bengali offered a different view of priorities, identifying budget and trade deficits—and the borrowing used to finance them—as Pakistan’s principal economic problem.

He said expenditure was rising faster than revenue and called for the elimination of duplicative federal ministries and departments, scrutiny of non-development spending and reduced government borrowing that restricted credit available to businesses.

Citizens need a greater role in development decisions

Punjab Assembly Public Accounts Committee Chairman Ahmad Iqbal Chaudhary said the growth debate should extend beyond national figures to the performance of provinces, cities and districts.

He urged reliable provincial-to-local fiscal transfers and greater accountability for local growth and public services. He also called for an end to the lack of participation that excluded citizens from decisions affecting their everyday needs.

Former special secretary for finance Noor Mohammed said excessive government demands on limited financial resources reduced funds available for private investment.

He highlighted poor value from some public expenditure, institutional duplication and the need for civil-service reform.

Proposal for a shared 20–30-year economic vision

Former Punjab Planning and Development Board chairman Suleman Ghani urged political parties to agree on a 20–30-year vision for economic governance while bringing service-delivery responsibilities closer to citizens.

He said local governments should be equipped to provide primary education, healthcare and other services, supported by an appropriate redistribution of decision-making authority.

Sindh Public Service Commission member Abdul Ghufran Memon highlighted longstanding audit observations and weak follow-up through Public Accounts Committee procedures.

He called for decisions on pending cases rather than repeated discussion without resolution, better incentives for implementation and sustained political agreement on core programmes.

Regulatory reforms must reduce actual business costs

OPM Pakistan team lead Dr Vaqar Ahmed said businesses should be able to measure regulatory reform through lower compliance costs.

He proposed temporarily restraining new overlapping rules while existing regulations were reviewed. Annual assessments of regulators, he said, should quantify financial savings.

He also urged coordination among institutions before introducing further disconnected digital portals.

Reforms should be judged from citizens’ perspective

Senior journalist Fahd Husain questioned whether established political, administrative, commercial and media interests had sufficient incentive to change arrangements from which they benefited.

Senior journalist Zebunisa Burki said reforms should be assessed from citizens’ perspectives rather than through headline growth figures or infrastructure announcements alone.