How Imran Khan plans to tackle Pakistan's economic challenges as PM

The soon-to-be Wazir-e-Azam of Pakistan has promised his countrymen a 'Naya Pakistan'. Through pictures, we take a look at how he plans to establish a state where poor are taken care of

1 / 6

In 2018, Pakistan won’t grow more than 5 per cent, forecasts say. In 2017, the country's per capita GDP grew by 3.6 per cent – lower than that of India and Bangladesh. Imran Khan’s entire election camping centered around corruption. He believes that new investment can be attracted into the country if there is clean governance.

2 / 6

In 2016, almost 5 million children in Pakistan were out of school. The country has the lowest primary school enrollment rate in the region. Pakistan currently spends just 2 per cent of its GDP on education. Imran plans to increase the spending by creating a fiscal space through increased tax collection of up to 5% of the GDP.

3 / 6

Pakistan’s labour participation rates are abysmal. It ranks 147th in the Ease of Doing Business Index. Imran plans to train two million youth within two years of coming to power. And to create more jobs for Pakistanis, Imran has outlined increasing investment spending to more than 21 per cent of GDP. In 2016, the investment spending was around 11% of the GDP.

4 / 6

Direct taxes in Pakistan constitute about 11% of Pakistan's total tax collections. According to estimates, more than Rs 900 billion of taxable income goes undetected. Imran plans to make the country’s Federal Board of Revenue autonomous to deal effectively with the issue of tax evasion without any political interference.

5 / 6

With the country being one of the lowest performers in South Asia Region on human development indicators, Imran plans to cut Pakistan's military budget, which currently stands at one-fifth of the total budget.

6 / 6

Well aware of the fact that trade between the two nations has taken a hit, Imran wants to mend ties and boost trade with India. He said, "If we want to have a poverty-free subcontinent, then our trade ties and relations must improve." At present, the trade stands at around $5 billion, which happens through a third country. Normalization of relations can take the trade figure to $30 billion.