Pakistan, May 13 -- ISLAMABAD - The federal government is finalizing a plan to launch a subsidized housing scheme for low-income families, aiming to ease Pakistan's severe housing shortage. The initiative will begin with the construction of 200,000 affordable housing units in partnership with commercial banks.

According to official sources, the government will initially offer homes in the public sector at a 50% subsidy. These will be 3- to 5-marla units, with plans to gradually expand the scheme. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and several commercial banks received a draft proposal earlier this week to review and provide feedback.

At a high-level meeting chaired by Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, stakeholders discussed long-term...