Pakistan has reduced the number of documents required to apply for a home loan under the Apna Ghar scheme from 25 to just five, making the application process simpler for prospective homeowners.

The government has also set a limit of 15 working days for processing loan applications as part of efforts to speed up housing finance.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reviewed the scheme’s progress during a meeting on Wednesday and directed officials to remove unnecessary hurdles in the loan approval process.

Banks have approved 75,198 housing loans worth Rs448 billion under the scheme. However, actual disbursements stand at Rs76 billion, covering around 14,000 applicants.

The government aims to provide Rs700 billion in housing financing for 125,000 housing units during the current year.

Shehbaz instructed the relevant authorities to make property ownership documents easier to obtain and further simplify procedures for people seeking housing loans.

He also directed the State Bank of Pakistan and relevant ministries to consult stakeholders and propose measures to improve access to housing, agricultural and small business financing by the end of October.

The meeting was informed that agricultural lending had reached Rs1,352 billion, benefiting approximately 3.455 million people. The government plans to increase agricultural loans to Rs1,500 billion and expand the number of beneficiaries to 4.5 million by June 2027.

Separately, more than 352,000 small and medium-sized enterprises have received loans worth Rs1,137 billion. The government aims to increase SME financing to Rs1,500 billion and expand the number of borrowing businesses to 575,000 by June 2027.

The prime minister also called for public-private partnerships to operate inactive PASSCO warehouses and silos, helping farmers store their produce. He further directed officials to explore expanding lending against stored agricultural commodities through private-sector participation.