Country with Vast Resources but Poor Economy

Pakistan is, undoubtedly, a developing country but with a dwindling economy. We have a large country and big population, fertile plains, rivers, abundant minerals and natural resources, but still we lag far behind in every field. There are multifaceted reasons behind the poor economy of our country.

When Pakistan came into being on August 14, 1947, all the industries were located in Indian Territory and Pakistan, in the early days, faced numerous problems. Quaid-e-Azam started to cope with the challenges. He urged his countrymen to work for their country. He dedicated all his efforts to uplift the economy of Pakistan that’s why he inaugurated the State Bank of Pakistan on 1st July 1948.

Sixty-seven years have passed since our independence but still we haven’t been able to get rid of the monster of ‘corruption’. It is indeed the greatest impediment in the way of economic development and prosperity. Every one of us is aware of the corruption, in every field may it be the military or the civilian governments. It is only the corruption which has adversely affected our economy to the extent that we, despite being rich in resources, are not at par with the developed nations.

The examples of Pakistan Steel Mills and PIA, once the backbone of our country’s economy, have turned into a tale of misery. All of our institutions now present a sorry state of affairs and the major reason behind is ‘corruption’. National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) is a shameful event in the history of our country. This black ordinance was promulgated to give the legal cover to the corruption made by the bigwigs of our political elite and, how ironic is the fact that the major beneficiaries were both civilians and army personnel. Thanks to the ever-vigilant Supreme Court of Pakistan that NRO was never ratified by the parliament.

The incumbent government of Nawaz Sharif has come up with tall promises to eradicate corruption and it is quite encouraging that steps have been taken in this regard. The poor but patriot Pakistanis have attached great hopes and expectations from Nawaz Sharif as they had given a huge mandate to PML (N) in May 11, 2013 elections.

A peep into our past history makes it vividly evident that the ruling elite have left no stone unturned to loot and plunder the national exchequer especially the dictators. Now it is high time for the government to rebuild the country’s economy and that too on strong footings now. There was never such pressing need that the elected representatives take concrete steps and utilize their energies and skills to make the impossible possible.

Another major cause of this debacle can be attributed to the chequered history of democracy in Pakistan. Since independence, we as a nation have been deprived of the democracy because the democratic process was intermittently intervened by the military adventurers. Pakistan was still a nascent state when our beloved leader and the founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam went to the eternal abode. This was an irreparable loss to the nation as it created a leadership vacuum that has not been filled till today. Continuation of strong democracy promises the economic benefits. Political instability is also responsible for our poor economy because the self-interested dictators made such economic policies which favoured them and prolonged their regime. As a matter of fact, if we had been on the path of democracy since 1947, our economic conditions, and political maturity would have been absolutely different.

Recently, for the first time in our history we have witnessed a smooth transition of civilian government. Undoubtedly, Pakistan is a developing country. Although we have abundant natural resources, we don’t have modern technology to exploit them. Foreign companies extract our natural resources just to benefit their own countries while giving the locals minimum royalty. If our government sincerely starts to explore the hidden wealth then our economic condition can substantially improve. By doing so we can stand on our own feet and be in a position to grant loans to other countries but who will dare take these steps? Pakistan is calling as it is the time to do something, otherwise we will perish.

The security dilemma can also be termed a reason behind our economic woes. Our eastern and western borders have always remained under threat. The security situation at present is precarious because of extreme insurgency in FATA and Afghanistan. This has hampered our economy besides a loss of around 50,000 civilian and security personnel over the last decade. The heinous acts of terrorism have paralysed our economy. There is no denying the fact that energy supply is indispensable in boosting the economy but Pakistan is facing acute energy crisis mainly because during the last twenty years, no government has paid proper heed to this sector as a result our economy has been in limbo. How unfortunate is the fact that still we have not developed any sound mechanism to collect taxes. Our tax machinery’s lack lustre and apathetic attitude encourages tax evasion. The attitude of tax collectors must be hard and for that purpose, proper attention of the government is essentially required.

Another cause is the neglect of agriculture sector by almost all governments. Pakistan has a lot of potential in agriculture and our government must properly plan to build dams and reservoirs without playing politics to bring more and more land under cultivation to produce a lot and in turn multiply our exports.

It is a grim reality that in our country everyone has some vested interests. Hardly any leader is sincere with the country in the truest sense of the world. Unfortunately, personal interests are given preference over state interests. If we start giving importance and preference to the state interest, then we will move forward in every sphere otherwise it would all go up in smoke.

We don’t have an Aladdin’s lamp in our hands that may make our economy strong enough to compete with the economy of developed countries immediately. However, our government can take initiatives practically. Being an underdeveloped country, our gravest problem and the biggest obstacle in our way to development is corruption. The government must take harsh steps to eradicate this evil. If our leaders sincerely and dedicatedly work for Pakistan then that day is not far when we would be called a prosperous and developed nation. Many of our political leaders have their assets out of Pakistan. The incumbent government must strive to bring them into our own country. If the government successfully overcomes this problem then surely economic prosperity and development will take roots.

For healthy economy, political stability and promotion of democracy are crucial. The recent transition of democracy from one elected government to another is a good omen. A true democracy enhances trade and investment in any country. As a matter of fact, political stability, amicable relations with neighbouring nations, ensuring proper law and order within the boundaries, ensuring supremacy of constitution, systematic and urgent end of energy crisis, emancipating meritocracy will certainly boost up the economy of our country.

It is a matter of misfortune that we produce a lot of raw materials but don’t have industries to utilize them. European and other developed nations purchase cheap raw material from us and sell the finished good at high prices in our own country.

Our newly-elected government must plan systematically and execute them nicely and, if needed, ruthlessly. If our leaders do not take steps today then we will remain entangled in the jaws of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB).  We have to rely on our own resources and must start to work from today to be in a good position to assist and donate the developing countries within few years.