Thrashing Pakistan’s Economy- by Aali Ahmad

There is no second opinion about the worsening economic situation of Pakistan as local and foreign economic experts have been shouting about the government’s ruinous policies throughout its tenure. Pakistani Rupee has so much devalued that, for the first time in history, it is less than 100^th fraction of a US Dollar value. Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been stumbling around as low as 3 for last five years. We were once determined to say good bye to International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) evil loan plans but now the situation is that we are begging for loans but monetary pool has even ceased it ongoing programs, thanks to government’s inability to do the required reforms.

It is harsh but true that, repeating its history, Pakistan People’s Party’s current tenure has also been dreadful for the country’s overall economic condition. While it is quite known fact that PPP’s government has never been able to improve or even sustain the Pakistan’s economy, still the question remains, why?

Well, the answer is callous but once again factual simply that the PPP’s overall leadership is incapable and its policies defective as it is unable to own a single major reform program or any development project for country since Z.A Bhutto laid ground for Pakistan’s atomic program back in late 1980s of which none can snatch the honor for initiating Pakistan’s nuclear program from it, still that needed a consistent policy for leaders of almost two decades.

But again, even a leader worth of Z.A Bhutto could not do a single wonder for Pakistan’s economy rather his socialist policies even curtailed the fruits of previous Ayub Khan’s era and deteriorated country’s economic structure by implementing nationalization policy. Experts say that some (if not many) of Pakistani industries could well have been challenging TATA, BIRLA and Reliance of modern India, had that awful policy not executed. One can imagine the amount of price Pakistan paid for the Bhutto’s course of action as, at that time, Pakistan’s economy was way ahead of the then Indian wobbly economy.

Also Benazir Bhutto’s two eras were not at all productive for Pakistan as it were marked by severe corruption and illegal and political appointments in government institutions. We can, at least, owe the destruction of Pakistan International Airline (PIA), Pakistan Railways, and Pakistan Steel Mills to PPP’s periodical tenures. PPP’s reign was also shadowed by the infamous shift of Pakistan’s power sector dependency to costly and foreign-dependent Thermal Power Plants from cheap, effective, self dependent and more feasible Hydro Power Plants. The nation is made to pay the price to date indebted by such a dreadful single decision. As a matter of fact BB’s husband and currently Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari emerged as Mr. 10 percent from that particular power scandal followed by Augusta Submarine tittle-tattle.

Following olden times, recent Asif Ali Zardari led PPP’s rule was one of its own kind in terms of corruption, plunder and wickedness. Current rule is marked with sleaziness immorality and fraud. This rule has trailed the same track of political appointments in already deteriorating public sector institutions and neglecting any major reforms in any single department. One can name a list of economic threats imposed today only because of PPP’s flawed policies starting from energy sector destruction, inflation, foreign reserve liquefaction, lack of investor’s trust, ever increasing domestic and foreign loans, devaluing currency terrorism and many more.

 

So there is somewhere something problematic within very PPP itself as none of its tenures was prolific for Pakistan. For an instance, if we even side line Zardari, Z.A Bhutto and BB were not at all themselves incapable yet they were unable to deliver. So, all I concluded was that PPP always lacked a full time economic expert team which could guide it in right direction. The menace with two late Bhuttos was that they fancied themselves as the “Great Economists”, however, all both of them delivered was nothing but misery to people. Well, if his great politician wife and even greater politician father in law made same mistake, how could Asif Ali Zardari not repeat it as he also did not went along a single economic team by continuously changing finance ministers. If the actions were same how you could expect different results…!

Author : Aali Ahmad