Political polarization plunges Pakistan into economic pain: PBF

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Businesses Forum (PBF) Senior Vice President, Muhammad Riaz Khattak has said that the major political parties of Pakistan have currently big responsibility on their shoulders.

Addressing a seminar “Is Pakistan Economically Governable” here on Friday, he said that the prevailing political polarization in the country is the major reason for the country’s economic downfall.

He said that once politicians and dictators came into power, they centered additional on perpetuating their political careers instead of promoting national interests. The country’s initial economic models lacked consistency and still do therefore.

Khattak said the economic history of Pakistan, supported three eras, shows political polarization as a reason for the present economic happening. He said that in the numerous political phases of the country, completely different leaders came to power and introduced their economic models with assumptive workplace. Every time, new administrations established new policies whereas the existing one was set aside.

This resulted within the state receiving new models with none incentives. This proves that whoever comes into power desires to pursue their interests instead of the national interests.

In 2019, the Riyasat-e-Madina Model was introduced by Prime Minister Imran Khan. Its purpose was to uplift the poor through the Ehsas program and health cards.

The currency was degraded, imports were prohibited, and exports were enhanced, to bring capital into the country. Owing to the short economic models, no correct policy was adopted to stabilize the economy of the country. It's the largest reason for fragile economic process.

PBF Senior Vice President said there is a requirement for a correct and property economic model.

Stakeholders should work jointly and prepare a better economic model that ought to be there for a minimum period of ten to twenty years and will not be modified notwithstanding the regime changes. To bring economic stability, a good fiscal and monitory policy is required.

There's a demand for the two following mechanisms for economic prosperity; stability in politics with sensible governance, and reforms within the gift economic structure. The first needs helping the economy through debt reduction, increasing the non-exempt financial gain, organizing national resources, reducing losses owing to state-owned enterprises, scaling down needless development disbursement, removing shortfalls in energy and infrastructure sectors, dominant inflation, and keeping the currency stable.

The second needs structural reforms, human resource management, uniform programme, revival of agriculture sector at full pace and exclusion of economic science biasness and sweetening of competition within the market. All the preceding measures will bring economic balance to the country; he concluded.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023