Pakistan must shift from stability to generational growth: Muhammad Ali

Mettis Global reported that Muhammad Ali, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatization, told the Leaders in Islamabad Business Summit 2026 on Thursday that Pakistan must go beyond economic stabilization toward long-term growth. He urged stronger competitiveness, innovation and private-sector participation to drive that shift. He said stability reached through tough economic choices should be a base for sustainable growth, not the goal itself.

He pressed for a trustworthy public policy framework, with private companies playing a bigger part in investment and productivity. Citing a population projected at 390 million by 2050, he said the state must redefine its relationship with private enterprise and step back where private firms add more value. For him, privatization is about releasing value that older management approaches have held back, not just changing owners. He also cited the complex transaction involving Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), saying lessons from it would guide future privatization and bankable public-private partnership (PPP) pipelines.

He outlined needed structural changes, such as relying less on consumption and foreign borrowing, and more on investment and private capital. He stressed innovation in local industry, linking industrialization with AI, robotics and electric vehicles. He also wanted more women in the workforce and urged domestic firms to grow capacity and compete on global terms. He closed by saying the present stability should be used to build a more productive economy able to sustain growth through 2050.