Pakistan’s economy is facing a serious fiscal challenge. Insufficient revenues, a large trade deficit, insignificant growth, and fear of a slowdown in remittances are all part of the problem. The PTI government is trying to overcome the fiscal challenge in several ways but other relevant and concerned departments are not assisting the government appropriately. Even some of the government’s own members are blithely repeating the mistakes of past governments.
There is little scope for encouraging imports of industrial raw materials to lift the country’s large-scale manufacturing sector out of recession. This in turn means industrial growth may remain stalled for some time. There is also no room for the rupee to become strong enough in the short term to create demand for the import of even consumer goods. Consumption of domestically produced goods is also dwindling because of falling income levels and high inflation. Inflation is stubbornly high and is on the rise. The agricultural sector is not growing at the desired pace and industries are producing less. The PTI government is hoping to revive exports, but a failure to grow revenues and boost export earnings is pushing the government to continue borrowing and piling on debt that will burden this country for generations.
Saqib Ishaq
Azad Kashmir