PM Imran Khan launches Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme.

ISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday launched the federal government's Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme, vowing to help the country's long-neglected stratum move from katchi abadis into swiftly constructed flats and high-rises. He said 25,000 housing units will be constructed in the federal capital, 1,10,000 in Balochistan and 6,000 in Azad Kashmir.

The scheme was launched at an event held in Islamabad where Housing and Works Minister Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Cheema, Finance Minister Asad Umar and various other government officials were also present.

The prime minister, during his speech, explained that housing did not feature high on his priority list originally but an incident changed his way of thinking about the industry.

"My first priority was health, education and employment," the premier admitted. "But then I found out about a soon-to-be retiring government employee who was told that the only two ways his family could retain their government residence was if his son got inducted in the same department if he died while still a government employee.

"That man jumped off a building the next day," the prime minister said, adding that "it was then that I realised how difficult it is for the salaried class to gather funds needed for building houses".

"Pakistan needs 10 million homes but the salaried class does not have the money," he regretted.

The prime minister said that Pakistan's 210m strong population means that its housing sector is seen as an attractive market for investors.

"Investors are lined up to come in, while we're also trying to bring in the private sector and help young entrepreneurs and youth [enter the housing industry]," he said.

The prime minister said that the plan is to turn the country's slums into towering high-rises via a revolutionary new construction mechanism invented by the Chinese.

"No one had ever thought of what would happen to the katchi abadis [large urban settlements consisting of hovels]," he rued, noting that "40 per cent of Karachi's populace dwells in katchi abadis".

"But when one is in the pursuit of something, ways open up. A Chinese company has told me they can make prefabricated homes and build one floor in just one week, so just imagine what they can do for us.

"We will give them land, they will swiftly construct flats, and all slums will get converted."

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that beneficiaries of the system including a few members of the Federal Board of Revenue are resisting...