It is heartening to note that the country’s businesspeople are gaining confidence about the prospects of their businesses that they believe are improving.
However, according to a news report carried by this newspaper citing a Gallup survey, a majority of them still opine that the country is not heading in the right direction, a perception that the survey report has said may be “reflective of the overall political situation in Pakistan and less linked with economic management”.
That lack of political stability continues to remain a formidable challenge is a fact. The economic growth in particular remains hamstrung by this factor, although political instability is often identified as a cause of poor economic growth, and sometimes as a consequence of it.
But there is no denying that there exist strong interactions between democracy, political stability, and economic growth.
The tensions generated by highly controversial February 2024 elections have played a role in subdued growth in the country.
In my view, therefore, clean or transparent elections and freedom of expression are critical to achieving political stability, and credible political stability is a sine qua non for achieving higher economic growth, which is critical to creating new job opportunities.
Salmaan Khan (Karachi)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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