Pakistan’s economic distress traces directly to its political malaise, according to a hard-hitting Dawn op-ed by veteran economist Sakib Sherani. He warns that ignoring governance failures while chasing fiscal fixes is a recipe for continued decline.
Sherani posits that political systems birth economic ones; flaws at the apex cascade downward, tainting everything. Economic revival demands viewing the crisis through this political-economic lens, not in silos.
He calls out the hypocrisy of advocating profound economic reforms sans political accountability—a deception that benefits no one. Until the resource-plundering, patronage-based political edifice crumbles, hopes for transformative investments are illusory.
Taking aim at proponents of business ‘creative destruction,’ Sherani highlights external chokeholds: prohibitively expensive and erratic power supply, tax rates over 50% with super levies, inflated currency values, pervasive smuggling and under-reporting spawning a $68 billion informal sector that erodes legitimate business.
Layer on executive meddling, suffocating regulations, bribe demands, scarce skilled labor, outlays for private infrastructure like water and guards, criminal syndicates’ shakedowns, forced political hires, and policy whiplash—these make competitiveness a fantasy.
Sherani’s verdict is unequivocal: Pakistan must prioritize bold political reforms to dismantle barriers, empower efficient enterprises, and steer toward sustainable prosperity.