Ahsan Iqbal wants media to track development outcomes

November 06, 2026 (MLN): Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal has called on the media to take a more active role in spotlighting key national challenges, strengthening public accountability and keeping development priorities at the heart of national debate, saying the country’s future hinges on issues that are often drowned out by political controversy.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal made the remarks on Friday while addressing the “Media Dialogue on Effective Development Communication”, APP reported.

He said media coverage sets national priorities, draws public attention and keeps institutions answerable, adding that issues which never enter public discussion rarely get the attention needed to resolve them. In his view, what is asked gets done, and what is not asked does not.

He urged journalists to put sustained scrutiny on slow progress in literacy, population growth, early childhood development, limited access to higher education, weak exports and leakages in public development spending.

On demographics, he said Pakistan is heading towards a population explosion while early childhood education and care remain neglected, even though around 90% of cognitive abilities develop in the first five years of life.

He described Pakistan’s 2047 future as something still in its mother’s lap today, and said investing in children’s early development is vital for a capable and productive next generation.

The minister said Pakistan’s economic sovereignty will remain at risk unless exports rise substantially, and set a target of $100bn in exports by 2035 to reduce reliance on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and external financing.

Comparing Pakistan with Vietnam, he said that in 1990 the two countries exported $6bn and $2.5bn, respectively, but Vietnam’s exports have since climbed to $475bn while Pakistan’s stand at around $40bn.

On education, he said only 13% of Pakistani youth have access to higher education, against 30% in a neighbouring country, 25% in Bangladesh and 60% in China, and called for wider debate on human capital development.

Turning to governance, he said systemic leakages and commissions in development spending erode the value of public money, and that every rupee allocated to a project should deliver its intended benefit.

He said the Planning Ministry has put development projects online and set up a public helpline to report misuse of resources, but stressed that independent media scrutiny is just as important.

He said every development project has a story that does not end with the inauguration but begins with its outcomes, and urged journalists to check whether schools are delivering quality education and whether university campuses and laboratories are serving their purpose.

The minister also asked the media to give more attention to preventive healthcare, tobacco use, passive smoking and food adulteration, citing a recent survey in which nearly half of the tested samples of packaged milk and ghee failed to meet prescribed standards.

He said development communication should go beyond relaying official statements and ceremonies to examine outcomes, expose shortcomings and encourage behavioural change.

Bringing development issues into mainstream debate, he added, along with meaningful media engagement and public participation, can give Pakistan’s development journey the push it needs.

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