DNA
The Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation, Chairman Privatisation Commission and Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A) speaking at the Leaders in Islamabad Business Summit 2026., on the theme “The Next Move- Pakistan’s Next Phase of Growth, Investment and Competitiveness”, emphasized the need for strategic shift from economic stabilisation toward generational growth, building market competitiveness through innovation, enabling the private sector and developing credible public policy framework.”
Muhammad Ali highlighted recent macroeconomic gains and the stability achieved through tough decisions, and said that stability is merely a launchpad for a sustainable economic growth. In order to support a population projected to reach 390 million by 2050, the Adviser called for an altered state-private sector relationship. The state must lead, regulate, partner, enable, and strategically exit sectors where private enterprise can provide better value. He defined privatisation not simply as a transfer of ownership, but as a mechanism to unlock latent economic value constrained by traditional management. Lessons from the complex PIA transaction will guide future privatisations and bankable PPP pipelines to deliver advanced infrastructure and services.The Adviser outlined three structural shifts required for Pakistan’s economic renewal:Changing how we grow: Transitioning from consumption and external financing to investment, productivity, and private capital.Building productive scale: Prioritising Innovation in our industry, fusing industrialisation with modern technologies like AI, robotics, and electric vehicles while expanding workforce participation, particularly for women. Competing with the world: Reorienting local businesses to to build productive businesses at scale, with the capacity to compete internationally.
Concluding his address, Ali warned that potential alone is not a strategy. He urged leaders to think across generations, capitalizing on the current stability window to build a highly competitive and productive Pakistan for 2050.
