Judging by index

This refers to the news report, ‘Pakistan becomes 18th largest world economy: Dar’ (April 20). The fact is that Pakistan stands much behind other countries in terms of economic development, industrialisation, science and technology, literacy, exports, per capita income, unemployment, and the gap between have and have nots. There is an island of prosperity in a sea of poverty and Ishaq Dar’s focus seems to be on the former.
Institutions are crumbling. Our national air carrier is in a shambles while the railways are the same as bequeathed to us by the British in 1947. Our shipping industry is insignificant and much of the international cargo is carried on foreign vessels. We do not have a steel plant worth the name. Heavy capital industries are ubiquitous by their absence in the country. We are importing consumer and capital goods from office pins and chocolates to locomotives and heavy machinery. In short, we have an import-dependent economy and we are surviving on remittances, borrowings and selling off country’s profitable assets. Our defence expenditure and debt-servicing consumes our entire budget and no room is left for current and development expenditures. This is the state of our country.
Arif Majeed
Karachi