This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed “Pakistan’s economic outlook 2025: inflation, growth, & debt” carried by the newspaper yesterday.
The writer, Dr Omer Javed, deserves commendation for presenting a highly informative perspective on the subject titled above.
However, the writer at times appears to be too technical insofar his articulation is concerned. Be that as it may, he has concluded his argument by saying, among other things, that “While the overall economic situation has shown some improvement, the outlook holds potential for serious headwinds, which can even turn the direction of this recovery, and calls for serious and urgent efforts to usher in meaningful economic reforms, especially on the supply side.” That the writer, who is a noted economist, is spot on is a fact. Little does he, however, realise the fact that the incumbent government has committed to introducing reforms in order to successfully get the lending from the IMF.
In other words, the commitment that the government has made is in sheer desperation in view of a woeful economic slide in the country. Despite an overall improvement in economic indicators, particularly on the inflation front, the government has miserably failed to boost manufacturing in the country.
In sum, the government’s approach to reforms is unfortunately characterized by reluctance or lack of enthusiasm, to say the least.
The IMF, in my view, will be required to step up its pressure on the government so that the implementation of reforms takes place as early as possible or in accordance with the timelines. Needless to say, without economic reforms, the country will have no future.
Anila Malik (Lahore)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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