According to newspaper reports, the gross domestic product of Pakistan has cross $304.4 billion and the country has achieved the highest annual growth rate of 5.3 percent in a decade. A recovery in the agriculture sector and good performance in the services sector remained driving force in pushing up the growth rate. On another note, the National Economic Council has set country’s total development budget at $190 billion for next year with focus on the development of infrastructure and energy sectors. Earlier, the government had heavily focused on the industrial sector, but it failed to achieve the desired goals in the outgoing fiscal year. The growth in the large-scale manufacturing sector remained below the target at 4.9 percent, but the small-scale manufacturing recorded a growth of to 8.1 percent. The growth in the services sector, which accounts for more than half the economy, has been recorded at 6.7 percent against a target of 5.7 percent. The wholesale and retail trade registered a growth of 6.8 percent against a target of 5.5 percent.
The country remained under political and economic crisis during the whole fiscal year, but it is good omen that the economy registered improvement in various sectors. The country is facing trade deficit with most of the trade partners and energy crisis still haunts the industrial sector. The government had achieved the Generalised Scheme of Preferences status from the European Union and it was hoped the exports would increase many fold. However, the exports have continuously been falling for the last three years and the government has so far failed to arrest the declining trends. It seems the finance minister is working on ad-hoc basis and seldom appears in the official meetings. Despite crossing the $300 billion barrier, the country still needs a proactive finance minister and commerce minister. The taxation system is directly under the supervision of the finance minister, but he could not remove ambiguity in tax laws and simplify the procedure to file tax returns.
Pakistan is attracting very little foreign investment as compared to the countries in the region and it should be a point to ponder for the government policymakers. There is a need to bring stability in the political system to create conducive environment for investment. Earlier, the government had fulfilled its needs by engaging in a three-year extended facility programme with the International Monetary Fund. It is hoped the government will overcome the financial difficulties without getting help from any foreign financial institution.
