PM Shehbaz urges banks to expand loans for farmers, SMEs and housing sector

He expressed these views while chairing a review meeting in Islamabad on the Access to Finance Plan 2026-28, which examined measures for extending loans under the Prime Minister’s “Apna Ghar” programme, as well as financing for the agriculture and small and medium-sized business sectors.

The prime minister said the agriculture sector was the backbone of the national economy and that taking measures for its development was a national responsibility. He directed the relevant authorities to ensure easy and uninterrupted access to financial resources for farmers.

Shehbaz Sharif said providing affordable housing to low- and middle-income groups was a government priority. He directed the provincial chief secretaries to conduct a comprehensive survey of properties that could be used to facilitate bank financing for people seeking to build homes under the Prime Minister’s “Apna Ghar” programme.

The meeting was informed that 147,504 applications had so far been received under the “Apna Ghar” programme, of which 53,127 applications had been approved. The total value of the approved applications stood at Rs313.42 billion, while loans amounting to Rs45.43 billion had been disbursed to 8,739 applicants.

The meeting was further informed that a system was being developed to identify plots across the country that meet mortgage requirements. A pilot project for the system will be launched in Islamabad.

A mechanism will also be developed to involve renowned housing developers in the process to make the programme more effective., banks had provided Rs126.8 billion in loans to the agriculture sector by August 2026, while the agriculture lending target under the Access to Finance Plan 2026-28 has been set at Rs200 billion by June 2028.

Under the “Zarkhez” app, 35,838 applications have so far been received for easy access to loans. Loans worth Rs7.35 billion have been approved, while Rs1.96 billion has already been disbursed. The meeting was also informed that banks had provided Rs106.7 billion in loans to the SME sector by August 2026.

Under the Access to Finance Plan, the lending target for the sector has also been set at Rs200 billion by June 2028. The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) has also provided financial management training to 1,096 SMEs during the past three months.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Ahsan Khan Cheema, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Muhammad Aurangzeb and Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Prime Minister’s Adviser Haroon Akhtar Khan, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad, chief secretaries of the four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, presidents and chief executive officers of Pakistani banks, and other senior officials attended the meeting.