Nobody ever imagines themselves as poor, or illiterate, when they are born. Due to the world’s major social problems, the desire to achieve everything good remains a dream. Many dreams are shattered every day in a developing country like Pakistan due to social issues. Pakistan is a developing country in South Asia. Pakistan is hampered in its development and progress by a slew of social issues and problems. Many limitations exist in Pakistan, including societal, familial, social, and psychological ones. It is difficult for an individual to excel and grow without proper guidance and opportunities. Youth in Pakistan face numerous issues as a result of these social issues.
According to the research of different scholars, the major economic challenges faced by Pakistan are poverty, unemployment, large foreign debts, low investment, and high fiscal debt. The government is being blamed the most for its inability and helplessness in breaking free from the IMF and World Bank’s shackles. Pakistan is burdened by huge foreign debts and economic instability every day as a result of this dependency and inability to take bold measures, resulting in a slew of problems.
Today, I’d like to focus on a question that is on everyone’s mind: why haven’t things improved in recent years in accordance with popular expectations?
To begin with, the 1990s were a lost decade in terms of Pakistan’s economic development. By October 1999, frequent political changes and a lack of policy continuity, poor governance, and the events of May 1998 had combined to create extremely difficult economic conditions in the country. The task of halting the downward trend and bringing the economy out of such dire straits was therefore enormous. The task was made more difficult by the international community’s initial reaction to the government change and the conflicting demands of various segments of the population. One of the major demands articulated by the public and the media was accountability for all those found guilty of past corruption and malpractices. However, this created a conflict with the goal of economic recovery because businessmen and bankers felt threatened by such actions.
Second, we must determine whose expectations we are discussing. Pakistan’s credibility was low both internationally, especially among international financial institutions, and domestically, among the general public. This government had to decide whether or not to seek assistance from the International Financial Institutions.
The gap between expectations and actual economic performance can be explained by a number of factors, but the global environment’s constraints, including the IMF’s conditionalities, our key economic institutions’ inability to implement policies, and unanticipated external developments, are the main ones. This does not imply that we wish to absolve ourselves of our errors or that we should overlook our shortcomings in decision-making. I can assure you that if this has occurred, it was entirely unintentional because our commitment to turn things around for the betterment of the country is as strong and fierce as anyone else’s.
MUHAMMAD ASHAR
SUKKUR
