RENOWNED Pakistani origin economist Atif Mian in an article published recently in The New York Times highlighted what ails Pakistan’s economy. He pointed out the enormity of the threats that it poses to our state’s sovereignty and its 200 million plus people.

He states that our economy has crashed 13 times in the last 60 years, surviving mostly on IMF bailout etc, with no plans by successive governments, including the incumbent one, to address the root causes.

The federal government is bankrupt because last year interest on debt and pension etc to retired civil and uniformed employees exceeded net revenues.

The beneficiaries of this status quo are the biggest obstacle to change. The reason: they prevail with their immense clout and influence, and thereby pose a threat to our survival as an independent sovereign state.

The moneyed elite resort to unfair business practices, tax evasion etc., and we have become a nation of consumers with less than 15 per cent of the country’s output invested in productivity-generating projects. The moneyed elite prefer investment in real estate to get rich quick rather than setting up industries and promoting national growth.

A. Malik
Lahore

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2020