Pakistan’s main economic story line in 2019 was austerity. Islamabad implemented belt-tightening measures to ease a balance of payments crisis that hit a peak in October 2018, when Prime Minister Imran Khan, just several months into his term, admitted his country was ‘desperate’ for loans. Pakistan enjoyed some economic relief in 2019, but many challenges […]
Category: Economy
Economic challenges and opportunities in 2020
According to the State Bank, during FY19 there was a decline in revenue collection and steep rise in current expenditures which led to a deterioration in all major fiscal indicators. The overall budget deficit during the year stood at a historic high of 8.9 percent of GDP, which was also in excess of the 4.9 […]
The economy has been Stabilized, exports are up
The Consul talks to Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to PM on Commerce & Industry THE CONSUL’s Special Correspondent held a wide-ranging interview with Abdul RazakDawood, Advisor to PM on Commerce and Industry. Excerpts from the conversation are reproduced below: Question: What challenges the government is facing in improving economy and what are the future […]
Reckless borrowing ruthless spending & bailouts
Even with a steep decline in development spending, total spending grew by 11.3 percent during FY19. The major push came from current expenditures, which grew by21.3 percent on top of 12.6 percent growth last year- The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in its ‘Annual Report 2018-19-The State of Pakistan’s Economy For the last many […]
India’s faulty ‘persecution’ statistics
The whole superstructure of the Indian government’s citizenship amendment bill, now enacted, is erected on the claim that religious minorities had been brutally persecuted and were still being discriminated, in Pakistan since 1947 and also in Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The persecution hypothesis is based on faulty statistics. India’s Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed non-Muslims […]
Looking forward to new chapter of China-Pakistan friendship - Yao Jing
Time flies and we are in the year 2020. At this wonderful moment of welcoming the third decade of the 21st century, I, on behalf of the embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Pakistan, would like to extend my sincere New Year greetings to all Pakistani friends. The year 2019 is of […]
Huge scope exists to expand Kazakhstan-Pakistan ties: Ambassador Akan
Ambassador of Kazakhstan Akan Rakhmetullin has said that although a lot has been achieved in Pakistan-Kazakhstan relations, there is still plenty of opportunities to expand our mutually beneficial ties, particularly in trade and economic cooperation, cultural, education and tourist exchange. “I will be trying my best to bring our partnership to the new qualitative level”. […]
China vs US of doing business model - and CPEC
US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Alice Wells’ special talk on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with a focus on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) at the Woodrow Wilson Center has generated discussion on the issue of who is a better friend of Pakistan — the US or China. Another streak of […]
An Inflated Balloon
IT is somewhat too premature to declare victory on the back of a few selective indicators. Euphoria of this kind can undermine the credibility of the government, as details show that these indicators rest on shaky foundations. A significant reduction in the current account deficit is a positive sign, but not at all an achievement […]