THIS is with reference to the article ‘Dealing with vulnerabilities’ (March 14), which read like a 1990s International Monetary Fund (IMF) policy brief rather than a survival guide for 2026. While it correctly identified the macroeconomic shock triggered by the uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, the proposed solutions were fundamentally archaic.

For instance, it suggested that we should upskill our workers to enable them to get employment abroad and further improve our remittances. Exporting human capital to a geopolitically volatile region is not a viable long-term economic strategy; it is a glaring admission of domestic failure.

No nation achieves economic resilience by acting as a labour farm. We desperately need robust domestic capital formation and a fiercely competitive private sector, not a deeper reliance on exported workers.

Furthermore, the hope that sovereign countries will convert their ‘deposits’ into equity investments ignored the prevailing market realities.

If global oil fluctuates around the $100 per barrel mark, the Gulf’s theoretical ‘windfall’ would largely be neutralisedby supply chain disruptions and maritime paralysis. Flight of capital, not regional investment, is the more likely outcome.

Finally, the ultimate safety net suggested by the said article was to engage the IMF to revise our performance criteria. We cannot simply deregulate, offer export rebates, and beg the IMF for waivers to navigate a shifting global order.

Pakistan must abandon these old school, rent-seeking economic crutches, and should, instead, aggressively integrate with emerging multipolar technological and financial frameworks. Tinkering with 20th century policies will only guarantee our 21st century irrelevance.

Shehzad Dhedhi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2026