By IANS,
Islamabad : Pakistan’s economy is faltering, a Pakistani daily said Wednesday, suggesting should be a vision to pull the country out of “this sinkhole”.
The annual report of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) highlights Pakistan’s disappointing economic situation, an editorial in the Daily Times said.
The report points out that the major factors that have contributed to “this grim state of affairs include the collapse of fixed investment, acute energy shortages, urban violence and lawlessness, poor physical infrastructure and institutional fragility”.
“In this scenario, we await the huge informal sector being brought into the tax net,” the editorial said.
“The balance of payments needs to be managed adroitly as loan repayments are coming up in the first quarter of next year. Since in a low growth, high inflation scenario, citizens suffer the most, better economic management and financial austerity need to be practiced.”
It advised that there should be “a vision to pull Pakistan out of this sinkhole…”.
The central bank’s report says that the GDP growth of Pakistan is likely to settle in the range of 3-4 percent by the end of fiscal year 2011-12, which means that “the economy is faltering and barely ahead of the population growth rate”.
It said that the unimpressive rate of growth is understandable, given the crises in the country owing to natural catastrophes like repeated floods, bad law and order situation, terrorism and rampant corruption.
Pakistan’s economic problems are compounded by the fact that it has come into direct confrontation with the Pakistani Taliban, causing it not just direct financial setbacks in the form of destroyed infrastructure, facilities, or loss of productive civilian life, but also from the atmosphere of fear that has resulted in flight of capital, conspicuous absence of foreign and domestic investment and businesses transferring to other countries, the editorial added.