Pakistan’s government may claim that the economy is now stable, but the stability is fragile and easily lost. The newfound ‘stability’ is aided and funded by the IMF and is reliant on yet another larger bailout from the Fund to sustain. As an editorial in Dawn pointed out, “the economic picture depicted in the survey does not offer much to celebrate or inspire hope about the future.”
While the economy is likely to have expanded by 2.4% and agriculture rose by 6.3%— the fastest in two decades — its dependence on major crops underscores the structural weaknesses in the sector. Similarly, industry and the services sector expanded by a meagre 1.2%, meaning the economy did not produce any new jobs to accommodate the millions entering the market. However, the government has drastically cut down its expenditure on economic and social infrastructure development, the cost of which will be paid by the economy and people in the years to come.
The Dawn editorial called upon Pakistan’s ruling elite to look beyond their narrow interests and actually focus on rebuilding the state of the economy.
