Planning Experience in Pakistan

Planning is called ‘economic’ because both economics and planning seek to make human life fuller and richer by the same modus operandi, namely, harnessing and utilising limited resources for attaining a limited combination of unlimited objectives. To be effective, planning must cover all aspects of man’s life; and all his hopes and aspirations should be kept in view in deciding what can be done with available resources in a given period. There are thus three clear-cut stages in planning: a) determination of objectives, b) assessment of resources, and c) drawing up of actual programmes for implementation. Since the objectives should really reflect people’s hopes and aspirations, and cover all interests of man—economic, social and cultural, the determination of such objectives, and more so the combination of such objectives for a given period, have to be done by the people themselves through their political system. The planner may help in the identification of these objectives or combinations therefore; but in the last analysis, the objectives must be given to him, ……………