Uraan Pakistan, an initiative by the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)-led government, was launched amidst much fanfare in the presence of representatives from all three national parties on 31 December 2024.

A copy of the programme published on expensive art paper with the title Uraan Pakistan: Homegrown National Economic Plan (2024-29) was held by a smiling Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif flanked by four PML-N federal ministers - Ahsan Iqbal the architect of the programme, Khawaja Asif, Mohammad Aurangzeb, and Ishaq Dar.

Anwaarul Haq, AJK Prime Minister affiliated with the PML-N, and Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz were also present; as were three PPP stalwarts namely Faisal Karim Kundi, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Nasir Hussain Shah, Sindh Local Government Minister, and Sheikh Jaafar Khan Mandokhel, Balochistan Governor.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was represented by Muzzammil Aslam, Advisor to the Chief Minister KPK standing on the far right of the Prime Minister.

At the outset one can challenge the title’s claim of homegrown as later in the document it refers to the national productivity master plan which it maintains “has been developed with the assistance of Asian Productivity Organisation and Korean Development Institute.” Another rather glaring uninformed assumption of the document is its contention that in the “last few decades we have seen the rise in globalisation with manufacturing moving to developing countries.”

This may indicate a dated mind-set as there is overwhelming evidence in international relations literature as well as ongoing world events, that over the past few decades, globalisation is under severe threat - defined as free flow of capital, goods and peoples.

The reason: the world is inexorably moving towards multipolarity from the unipolar US-led world mainly due to crippling Western sanctions.

Uraan Pakistan spans the five-year tenure of the government (2024-29),........

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