Islamabad:Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has emphasized the importance of providing timely loans to key sectors such as agriculture, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and housing to stimulate the national economy. During a high-level meeting on financial access for these sectors, he praised banks for their active role in loan disbursement and urged underperforming banks to improve for government recognition.

According to Radio Pakistan, the Prime Minister directed relevant ministries, secretaries, and the State Bank of Pakistan to consult stakeholders and present recommendations by the end of the month to enhance ongoing schemes. He also instructed the operation of inactive PASSCO warehouses and silos under public-private partnerships to increase storage capacity for farmers' produce.

The Prime Minister commended Allied Bank's commodity storage model and investment in the proposed SME Park. He ordered the simplification of documentation for the Apna Ghar Housing Scheme to facilitate applicants and called for finalizing developers' finance committee recommendations promptly.

Data presented at the meeting highlighted that 75,198 loans worth 448 billion rupees have been approved under the Apna Ghar Scheme, with 76 billion rupees disbursed to 14,000 beneficiaries. A target of 700 billion rupees for 125,000 housing units is set for this year, with a reduced processing time for applications.

In the agriculture sector, a total of 1,352 billion rupees in loans benefit over 3.45 million individuals, with a target of 1,500 billion rupees and 4.5 million beneficiaries by June 2027. Similarly, 352,000 SME businessmen have received 1,137 billion rupees in loans, aiming for 1,500 billion rupees for 575,000 businesses by June 2027.

Efforts are underway to refine regulations for SMEs and housing finance, with measures to improve loan provision, supply chain financing, and data sharing also in progress.