Sabheen lauds national, diplomatic successes as historic milestones

Parliamentary Secretary for Information Technology and Telecommunication Sabheen Ghoury Tuesday termed Pakistan’s recent diplomatic and national achievements as historic milestones, crediting strengthened civil-military coordination for enhancing the country’s global standing

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Jun, 2026) Parliamentary Secretary for Information Technology and Telecommunication Sabheen Ghoury Tuesday termed Pakistan’s recent diplomatic and national achievements as historic milestones, crediting strengthened civil-military coordination for enhancing the country’s global standing.

Speaking in the National Assembly during the budget debate, she said the developments represented a second major success under the current leadership reflected effective institutional synergy between the political government and armed forces.

She extended felicitations to Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Syed Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi and the entire government team for a landmark achievement for Pakistan.

Sahbeen said the country’s growing diplomatic engagement and international recognition were the result of coherent national policies and collective efforts.

On the federal budget, Sabheen Ghoury said it as a step towards economic stability and development, while stressing the need for more balanced regional investment.

She identified Karachi as the country’s economic backbone, saying it contributes nearly 67 percent of Pakistan’s gross domestic product and generates a significant share of national revenue.

She said the total federal budget of Rs 18.771 trillion, including Rs 1,000 billion allocated under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), was a positive development, but said that at least 10 percent of the development allocation should be directed towards Karachi to improve its infrastructure, health facilities, education sector and communication systems.

Highlighting the rapid population growth of the city, now nearing 40 million, she called for stronger federal and provincial coordination to improve governance and accelerate long-delayed infrastructure projects, particularly the rehabilitation of major urban arteries such as university road, to reduce traffic congestion and public inconvenience.

Focusing on education, she termed it the cornerstone of national development and urged a substantial increase in funding for the sector.

She acknowledged the allocation of Rs 46 billion for higher education and Rs 36 billion for school education projects as encouraging, but said these amounts should be gradually enhanced to between one and four percent of the total federal budget.

Citing international examples, she said developed countries such as Germany prioritize education investment as a foundation for long-term economic resilience.

Pakistan, she added, must adopt a similar approach to ensure sustainable growth, poverty reduction, and employment generation.

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She also expressed concern over the existence of approximately 25 million out-of-school children, calling it a critical national challenge.

She urged federal and provincial authorities to adopt urgent, coordinated and result-oriented measures to bring these children into the formal education system, stressing that human capital development was essential for Pakistan’s future economic and social progress.

Participating in the budget debate, senior leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Malik Abrar Ahmed said that the recent diplomatic engagement between the United States and Iran reflected increasing global confidence in Pakistan’s leadership and diplomatic role.

He credited Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, CDF Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar for a coordinated and strategic foreign policy approach.

He said that after a gap of 47 years, high-level discussions between the US and Iranian leadership were held on Pakistani soil, terming it a significant achievement for Pakistan’s diplomatic outreach.

Malik Abrar said that this development, alongside the success of Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos, demonstrated Pakistan’s strengthened defence and foreign policy posture at the international level.

Addressing constituency-related issues, he drew attention to longstanding civic challenges in Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonment, urging the restoration of annual federal grants for cantonment areas.

He said around three million residents were facing severe shortages of clean drinking water and called for the use of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) funds to launch new water supply schemes.

Malik Abrar also suggested for the relief measures including the abolition of outstanding old taxes on five-marla houses for low-income households, the establishment of a hospital to serve nearly one million people and administrative reforms through the creation of additional wards for better population management and service delivery.

On the federal budget, he said the economic framework as a step towards self-reliance.

He welcomed key measures including tax relief for the middle class, a one percent fixed tax for small traders, a seven percent increase in salaries of government employees and a 10 percent raise in the minimum wage.

Malik Abrar appreciated the abolition of customs duty on raw materials used in cancer medicines, the increase in the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) allocations, terming these initiatives “revolutionary economic reforms” aimed at strengthening economic stability and social protection.

APP/man-sra