Media asked to play proactive role in strengthening public accountability

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal said that the media should play a proactive role in strengthening public accountability and focusing on the challenges confronting Pakistan’s development, economic growth and long-term national progress.

The Minister expressed these views while addressing an event, “Media Dialogue on Effective Development Communication,” held at the Planning Ministry on Friday.

He said journalists should focus on the challenges facing Pakistan’s development, economic growth and long-term progress. He added that the country’s future depended on solving important issues that were often ignored because of political controversies. He said the media played an important role in setting national priorities, drawing public attention to important matters and holding institutions accountable. Issues that were not discussed publicly often failed to get the attention needed to solve them.

He said important issues such as slow progress in literacy, population growth, early childhood development, limited access to higher education, poor export performance and misuse of public development funds needed regular media attention.

The minister said Pakistan’s economic independence was at risk without a major increase in exports. He set a target of increasing exports to USD100 billion by 2035 to reduce the country’s dependence on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and foreign loans and financial assistance.

Comparing Pakistan’s exports with Vietnam, he said both countries had exports worth USD6 billion and USD2.5 billion, respectively, in 1990. However, Vietnam’s exports had now increased to USD475 billion, while Pakistan’s exports remained around USD40 billion.

Talking about population growth, he said Pakistan was facing the risk of a population explosion.

He added that early childhood education and care were being neglected, even though around 90 per cent of a person’s mental abilities develop during the first five years of life.

“Pakistan 2047 is in its mother’s lap today,” he said, explaining that investing in children’s early development was important for building a skilled and productive future generation.

He also said that only 13 per cent of young people in Pakistan had access to higher education, compared with 30 per cent in a neighbouring country, 25 per cent in Bangladesh and 60 per cent in China.

He stressed the need for more discussion on improving the education and skills of the country’s young people.

Highlighting problems in governance, he said corruption, misuse of funds and commissions in development projects reduced the benefits of public spending.

He stressed that every rupee spent on development projects should be used for its intended purpose.

He said the Planning Ministry had introduced measures to improve transparency, including making development projects available online and setting up a public helpline to report the misuse of funds.

However, he said independent media monitoring was also important.

“Every development project has a story, and that story is not just about the inauguration. The story begins with the outcomes of the project,” he said.

He urged journalists to check whether schools were providing quality education and whether university campuses and laboratories were being used properly.

The minister also called on the media to give more attention to preventive healthcare, tobacco use, passive smoking and food adulteration.

Referring to a recent survey, he said nearly half of the tested samples of packaged milk and ghee did not meet the required quality standards.

He said reporting on development should not be limited to official announcements and opening ceremonies. Instead, the media should examine the actual results of projects, highlight weaknesses and encourage positive changes in public behaviour.

He stressed that bringing development issues into public debate, along with active media involvement and public participation, could help speed up Pakistan’s development.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026