Govt declares ML-1 'national priority'

The Express Tribune reported that Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to speed up development projects and widen private-sector participation. The ADB has also proposed a joint working group to drive institutional reforms in Pakistan Railways, and both sides agreed to begin that process immediately.

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema met ADB Vice President Yingming Yang, and their talks covered railway reforms, the ML-1 project, private investment and economic reforms. Cheema described ML-1 as a national priority and a flagship initiative, while the vice president welcomed the momentum the government has built on the project. Cheema also welcomed the approval of the ADB's Country Partnership Strategy 2026-2030.

Cheema said reforms over roughly the last three to four years had rebuilt confidence in the economy and laid the groundwork for macroeconomic stability. He tied the improved sovereign credit rating to those changes, and the vice president also welcomed both the rating gain and the wider macroeconomic stability. On private investment, the ADB vice president said the bank's portfolio in Pakistan would expand, while Cheema stressed that privatisation is a government priority and that a public-private partnership framework is under way.