New Delhi, Jan 21 The current set of rulers in Pakistan has more autocratic powers than all set-ups after Gen Pervez Musharraf's, but these only help it to survive; its ability to use them to usher progress is weak, as per a Pakistani media report.
Painful IMF medicine was unleashed as well. It lowered inflation, but undercut growth. A recent national household survey shows that to recover from the cost of past inflation, strong growth is needed, which the IMF says may remain elusive even next year, according to an article in the Dawn newspaper.
"What is on display is crony capitalism, autocratic excesses and a lack of ability to ignite sustainable and equitable progress," the article written by Dr Niaz Murtaza lamented.
To spur growth, while also cutting our ever-rising external deficit, the setup must raise investment and exports, it said. Its best idea on exports so far seems to have been to set up committees of clueless people, while the best one on investments is to dash to Gulf states, the article noted. But despite dozens of meetings, Saudi Arabia and others have given few inflows, it added.
The country needs industrialisation, but instead it is chasing avenues such as crypto, corporate farming, mining, and defence exports that may even impede major industry.
The article observed that while Pakistan’s crony capitalism can’t provide stability and growth, the IMF’s neoliberalism fails on equity and sustainability.
For the near future, the country will continue pretending to implement neoliberalism but actually pursuing crony capitalism based on import-led growth instead of export-led expansion of the economy.
"In all our brief growth spurts in recent decades, foreign reserves fell despite growth, as it came from rising imports rather than exports. This raises the current deficit, depletes foreign reserves, and takes us back to the IMF," the article added.
"The big dreams of the civilians in the setup are centred on being able to churn up growth before elections and thus shun the economic-political crutches and shackles of the IMF and hidden forces. But given the inability to crank up our foreign reserves despite the three-pronged strategy of ‘beg, borrow and squeeze’ from the local market, they may have to continue serving both for long. Meanwhile, the chances of salvation for the masses will remain distant until democracy and civilian sway prevail," the article lamented.
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