The recent drone strike may have political or military successes for the United States, but it has thrown the Pakistani nation into pessimism where economic prosperity is still a dream and foreign direct investment is minimal. No investor in the world will like to put his money in a war zone or in an unstable region. The only hope for the country is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is a long term project expanding through 2030. According to some experts, Pakistan is not emerging but a frontier economy which has the potentials to improve its macroeconomic indicators. Besides drone attacks, persistent energy crisis, political instability, weak writ of the government and corruption are few factors which are hindering the economic growth of the country. The foreign direct investment only pours in where there are relaxed conditions for business and trade and not in a country where the local businesses are overburdened with taxes for one reasons or the other.
The government will have to introduce economic reforms and a vibrant investment policy to attract the foreign investment. There are structural flaws in the tax collection system which are hindering to increase the tax base and as a result the number of taxpayers is falling. However, in a desperate move to enhance revenue, the government opts for indirect taxes and withdrawal in subsidies which further deteriorate economic situation in the country. The economic growth in the region lies between five to seven percent, but Pakistan’s growth lingers around 4.5 percent. The government will have to improve business environment and introduce reforms to restore the trust and confidence of the business community in its policies. It is unfortunate that political parties are least concerned with economic repercussions of their conflicting points of view while all the economic gains can be lost in a polarized society.It is the right of the opposition to point out wrongdoings of the government but criticism should be constructive and not distractive for the economic wellbeing of the country.
The opposition parties should understand that political uncertainty will not be in the national interest as it will send wrong signals to the world about business, trade and investment climate of the country. In this situation only the economic corridor is the hope and future of Pakistan, but there are limits and level of toleration for the Chinese government. If uncertainty continues to prevail, nobody wouldstop Chinese from pulling out their investment from the country. When the long-term projects such as the economic corridor and setting up of industrial zones are a hope, the short-term policies often turn into failures and that is the area of concern for the government to revisit its policies.
