According to the World Bank, Pakistan has vast development potentials due to its important strategic geographical location as it is situated at the fulcrum of various regions, including South Asia, Central Asia, China and the Middle East. The bank says that the country is the center of a regional market where the population is large and natural resources are untapped with a vast potential of trade and investment. The country can reap demographic dividends with increasing proportion of working-age population but despite having all the positive indicators, Pakistan is facing economic, governance and security challenges. The country is facing security challenges from India and from within in various regions of the country — from the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan to urban areas like Karachi and elsewhere. The engagement of the army in various anti-terrorism operations on the western and eastern borders is the major impediment in the way of development. The poor governance is one of the major areas of concern, while the challenges of creating conducive business environment as well as the maintenance of peace and security are hindering the potential growth of Pakistan.
Pakistan has also faced natural disasters such as earthquake and floods, which had ruined the rural economy, but fall of oil prices in the international market and support from the International Monetary Fund have pushed the economy to resist. The World Bank says that the country is facing persistent energy crisis, but even then the economy is showing signs of recovery driven by agriculture and services sectors. Pakistan has recorded growth in cotton, wheat and rice crops despite the floods while road transportation, telecom industry, finance and insurance have boosted the service sector. Though the large-scale manufacturing units have shown positive growth, its volume remained below than the last year. The pharmaceuticals, electronics, automobiles, iron and steel industries have shown good performance, but energy crisis persistently haunted the industrial sector.
As a matter of fact, quality of life has improved in the urban centers of the country, but 75 percent population in rural areas still lives below the poverty line. Unless the government introduces corporate culture in the agriculture sector, the living standard of peasants cannot be improved. Though the corporate sector has its own merits and demerits, but it is better to follow a direction rather than setting on a journey without destination. Pakistan is blessed with intelligent minds, and it is hoped the nation will find a way out to extricate itself of the economic mess.