ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economy, having withstood severe pressures, seems to have turned the corner with reasonable expectations that during the 1975-76 fiscal year, inflationary pressures may recede with a better balance between monetary demands and availabilities. According to the economic survey released here today [June 6] the terms of trade may improve with decline in world prices of our major imports and recovery in demand for our exports, and that a gradual improvement may be brought out in balance of payments situation through import substitution strategy.

Discussing the future economic trends the … survey … emphasised that the main problem in the coming years would be to maintain the tempo of the present development effort by increasing savings, both in public and private sectors. Besides … the balance of payments situation will have to be corrected by a massive effort at export promotion coupled with import substitution. … …[T]he survey says that to close the sizable trade gap, foreign assistance received from traditional sources amounted to 600 million dollars and from Islamic oil-producing countries 410 million dollars in the form of concessional loans. — Islamabad Bureau

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2025