Pakistan exceeds expectations as growth rate nears 6pc

[cric_man]

Pakistan exceeds expectations as growth rate nears 6pc

Mubarak Zeb Khan Published May 19, 2022

ISLAMABAD: The growth rate forecast of Pakistan’s economy increased significantly during 2021-22, making it the second-highest economic growth recorded over the past four years suggesting recovery of the economy from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The projection that Pakistan’s economy will grow at a rate of 5.97 per cent in 2021-22 is much higher than the projections of 4pc and 4.3pc by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, respectively, for the same year.

This projection came as a surprise when it was feared the fuel subsidies will ditch the growth forecast. The growth was mainly contributed by the industrial sector, followed by services and agriculture sectors. In the agriculture sector, a robust growth was seen in four major crops — cotton, rice, sugarcane and maize — while a dip was noted in wheat production.

The 105th meeting of the National Accounts Committee, chaired by Planning Secretary Dawood Muhmmad Bareach, approved the figures of gross domestic product (GDP) for the fiscal year 2021-22 and revised figure for 2020-21.


Forecast much higher than IMF, World Bank projections

An upward trend in the growth was also seen in the revised figures for the year 2020-21, when it was estimated at 5.74pc, which was provisionally projected at 5.57pc.

The size of the economy rose to $380 billion in 2021-22 from the revised figure of $346.76bn the previous year. The size of the economy grew in dollar terms as the rupee strengthened against the greenback — the highest-ever increase in any year.

Per capita income has also been calculated at Rs314,353, up from Rs268,223 for 2020-21. The per capita income in dollar terms has jumped to $1,798 from previous year’s projections of $1,676.

The revised GDP growth rate for the year 2020-21 is 5.74pc, which was provisionally estimated at 5.57pc. The crops sub-sector has improved from 5.92pc to 5.96pc. Other crops have improved from provisional growth of 8.08pc to 8.27pc in revised estimates. The industrial sector’s growth in the revised estimates is 7.81pc, which was 7.79pc in the provisional estimates, while the services sector’s growth has improved from 5.7pc to 6pc.

The provisional GDP growth rate for the year 2021-22 is estimated at 5.97pc. This is the outcome of a broad-based growth witnessed in all sectors of the economy. The growth in agricultural, industrial and services sectors is 4.40pc, 7.19pc and 6.19pc, respectively. The growth in the agriculture sector was achieved despite a fall in wheat production.

The growth in important crops during this year is 7.24pc against last year’s 5.83pc. The growth in production of important crops — cotton, rice, sugarcane and maize — are estimated at 17.9pc, 10.7pc, 9.4pc and 19pc, respectively.

Cotton crop production increased from last year’s 7.1 million bales to 8.3m bales; rice output from 8.4m tonnes to 9.3m tonnes; sugarcane production from 81m tonnes to 88.7m tonnes; and maize production rose from 8.4m tonnes to 10.6m tonnes.

Wheat production decreased from 27.5m tonnes in 2020-21 to 26.4m tonnes in 2021-22. Other crops showed growth of 5.44pc, mainly because of an increase in production of pulses, vegetables, fodder, oilseeds and fruits.

The livestock sector is showing a growth of 3.26pc this year against 2.38pc last year, forestry grows 6.13pc against a negative growth of 0.45pc last year and fishing stands at 0.35pc this year against 0.73pc last year.

The overall industrial sector shows an increase of 7.19pc in 2021-22, while it recorded a growth of 7.81pc in 2020-21. The mining and quarrying sector has declined by 4.47pc due to a fall in production of other minerals.

The large-scale manufacturing industry is driven primarily by QIM data (from July 2021 to March 2022) which shows an increase of 10.48pc. Major contributors to this growth are food (11.67pc), tobacco (16.7pc), textile (3.19pc), wearing apparel (33.95pc), wood products (157.5pc), chemicals (7.79pc), iron & steel products (16.55pc), automobiles (54.10pc), furniture (301.83pc) and other manufacturing (37.83pc).

The electricity, gas and water industry shows a growth of 7.86pc, mainly due to an increase in subsidies in 2021-22. Value added in the construction industry, mainly driven by construction-related expenditures by industries, has registered a modest growth of 3.14pc in 2021-22 against 2.48pc the previous year, mainly due to an increase in general government spending.

The services sector shows a growth of 6.19pc in 2021-22 against 6pc in 2020-21. The wholesale and retail trade industry grew by 10.04pc. It is dependent on the output of agriculture, manufacturing and imports. The growth in trade value added relating to agriculture, manufacturing and imports stands at 3.99pc, 9.82pc and 19.93pc, respectively.

The transportation and storage industry has increased by 5.42pc due to increase in gross value addition of railways (41.85pc), air transport (26.56pc), road transport (4.99pc) and storage. Accommodation and food services activities have increased by 4.07pc. Similarly, information and communication increased by 11.9pc due to improvement in telecommunication, computer programming, consultancy and related activities.

The finance and insurance industry shows an overall increase of 4.93pc, mainly due to an increase in deposits and loans. Real estate activities grew by 3.7pc, while public administration and social security (general government) activities posted a negative growth of 1.23pc due to high deflator. Education has witnessed a growth of 8.65pc due to public sector expenditure. Human health and social work activities increased by 2.25pc due to general government expenditures. The provisional growth in other private services is 3.76pc.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2022

https://www.dawn.com/news/1690400/pakistan-exceeds-expectations-as-growth-rate-nears-6pc

 

[cric_man]

We were slowly getting the fundamentals right and getting on track for a decent growth year....

 

[daytrader]

We were slowly getting the fundamentals right and getting on track for a decent growth year....

The previous government was working well for Pakistan however the world establishment does not want us to progress

 

[silentkiller187]

So previous governments reign wasnt all doom and gloom then, good signs , new government need to ensure they dont undo all the hard work of the previous.

 

[Syed1]

First time since FY06-FY07 where Pakistan will have two consecutive years of 5+ growth.


Thank you Bajwa, Nadeem Anjum and Bandial for ruining all this progress.

 

[Bewal Express]

So previous governments reign wasnt all doom and gloom then, good signs , ner governmentcant undo all the hard work of the previous.

Paid media touts were trying to spread despondency and succeeded. These are amazing figures

 

[Hermoine Green]

But IK has destroyed economy, and he hasnt left any thing behind

 

[Mamoon]

But IK has destroyed economy, and he hasnt left any thing behind

He did. The world renowned economist, who Imran desperately wanted as economic advisor, certainly thinks so. I believe he knows more about economics than jobless youth attending rallies.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&#55356;&#56821;&#55356;&#56816; PM voted out of office by parliament after 3.5 years<br><br>He inherited a bad economy, but leaves it in even worse shape<br>&#55358;&#56821;</p>— Atif Mian (@AtifRMian) <a href="https://twitter.com/AtifRMian/status/1512908323623825408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[wasim-fan]

He did. The world renowned economist, who Imran desperately wanted as economic advisor, certainly thinks so. I believe he knows more about economics than jobless youth attending rallies.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&#55356;&#56821;&#55356;&#56816; PM voted out of office by parliament after 3.5 years<br><br>He inherited a bad economy, but leaves it in even worse shape<br>&#55358;&#56821;</p>— Atif Mian (@AtifRMian) <a href="https://twitter.com/AtifRMian/status/1512908323623825408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Very interesting. Well the damage is beyond repair now in my view. Economic emergency only way.

 

[Bewal Express]

He did. The world renowned economist, who Imran desperately wanted as economic advisor, certainly thinks so. I believe he knows more about economics than jobless youth attending rallies.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">���� PM voted out of office by parliament after 3.5 years<br><br>He inherited a bad economy, but leaves it in even worse shape<br>��</p>— Atif Mian (@AtifRMian) <a href="https://twitter.com/AtifRMian/status/1512908323623825408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

We have seen the horror of your incompetent crooks and the worst govt we have ever seen.


6% growth, exports up by a 1/3rd, tax collection to be doubled, imports down, remittances up and the list goes on

 

[Mamoon]

We have seen the horror of your incompetent crooks and the worst govt we have ever seen.


6% growth, exports up by a 1/3rd, tax collection to be doubled, imports down, remittances up and the list goes on

Please go through his Twitter thread underneath this tweet. You will learn a thing or two about the economic failures of PTI's joker government.

 

[Bewal Express]

Please go through his Twitter thread underneath this tweet. You will learn a thing or two about the economic failures of PTI's joker government.

As I said you quoting hm is an embarrassment for you. It's you that claimed IK faked the bad economy when he took over and here you are quoting him telling us that it was bad)

 

[Hermoine Green]

Now twitter posts are standard and truth for Mamoon ) awwww feeling pity..

What next ?

 

[MenInG]

Investments and savings as a percentage of the size of Pakistan’s economy have remained below the official targets in the outgoing fiscal year, affirming that the 6% economic growth rate was fed by imports and consumption.

Like its predecessor, the government of former prime minister Imran Khan could not resolve the two chronic issues of Pakistan’s economy – the low savings and investment ratios that eventually lead to an external sector crisis the moment the country starts growing above 5%.

Against the target of 16% investment to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio set by the last government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the ratio remained at 15%, according to the initial estimates based on the latest national accounts.

The National Accounts Committee (NAC) approved these estimates a day earlier.

The 15% investment-to-GDP ratio was still the highest in four years but below the level left behind by the government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in 2018. The ratio was also lower than the regional peers.

Similarly, there was a steep decline in the savings-to-GDP ratio, which dipped to 11.1% in fiscal year 2021-22.

The savings-to-GDP ratio was not only below the official target of 15.3% but it was also lower than the previous year’s level of 14%. The ratio deteriorated due to the worsening of current account deficit.

Yet, with the low ratios of savings and investment, the country registered 6% economic growth, which was largely fueled by imports and consumption.

The World Bank says that with the existing structural issues, Pakistan’s economy cannot grow more than 4% on a sustainable basis. The findings are proved by the results of two fiscal years – 2020-21 and 2021-22 – when Pakistan achieved 5.7% and 6% economic growth respectively.

The finance ministry is now at the doorsteps of the IMF with a request to revive and expand the stalled bailout package.

The PTI government missed the investment-to-GDP target for the fourth successive year.

The national accounts showed that fixed investment slightly improved to 13.4% of GDP but it remained below the target by one percentage point.

Public investment also showed improvement and increased to 3.4% of GDP but it was because of using the original annual budgetary figures of the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) that have already been curtailed by almost 45%. The public investment too remained below the official target.

Read With 6% growth rate, Pakistan’s economic size jumps to $383 billion

Private sector investment remained at last year’s level of 10% of GDP, according to details of the national accounts.

Failure to achieve the crucial investment target has limited the government’s ability to spend on the deteriorating infrastructure and social sector from its own resources. Pakistan is spending on development by taking more loans.

The government’s inability to increase investment as a percentage of the total size of national economy is its biggest failure on the economic front, suggesting that the PTI government could not even begin the journey towards addressing structural imbalances.

Pakistan has one of the lowest investment and saving rates in the region and the world, obstructing progress towards the path of sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Savings that stood at 14% of GDP in the last fiscal year shrank to 11.1%, which was 4.2% of GDP lower than the government’s target.

The savings-to-GDP ratio has been worked out on the assumption that the current account deficit will remain at 3.9% of GDP in the current fiscal year. At the time of the budget, the last PTI government had set the current account deficit target at 0.7% of GDP.

The total size of national economy is now estimated at $387.1 billion for the current fiscal year, up from $348.7 billion a year ago. These figures for investment and savings would be officially published in the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2021-22, likely to be unveiled on June 9 by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Development, the per capita income in dollar terms grew to $1,818 in fiscal year 2021-22. The Ministry of Planning has used the population figure of 227 million for working out the per capita income.

The per capita income is worked out by dividing the total national income by the number of people. At the end of PML-N’s tenure, the per capita income had been recorded at $1,768.

The average exchange rate in fiscal year 2021-22 was Rs173, down from Rs159.75 to a dollar, according to the PBS figures. The exchange rate on Thursday dropped to the lowest level of Rs200 to a dollar, thanks to the wrong economic policies of the PTI and delay in making timely decisions by the new coalition government.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2022.

 

[Xoib]

He did. The world renowned economist, who Imran desperately wanted as economic advisor, certainly thinks so. I believe he knows more about economics than jobless youth attending rallies.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&#55356;&#56821;&#55356;&#56816; PM voted out of office by parliament after 3.5 years<br><br>He inherited a bad economy, but leaves it in even worse shape<br>&#55358;&#56821;</p>— Atif Mian (@AtifRMian) <a href="https://twitter.com/AtifRMian/status/1512908323623825408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Stats and figures are more reliable and authentic then one man opinion. Atif despite his pedigree is just an outsider looking in no different to you and me it's the numbers that show the true picture and most to all economic indicators look good so credit to PTI for these decent numbers.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Pakistan exceeds expectations as growth rate nears 6pc

Mubarak Zeb Khan Published May 19, 2022

ISLAMABAD: The growth rate forecast of Pakistan’s economy increased significantly during 2021-22, making it the second-highest economic growth recorded over the past four years suggesting recovery of the economy from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The projection that Pakistan’s economy will grow at a rate of 5.97 per cent in 2021-22 is much higher than the projections of 4pc and 4.3pc by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, respectively, for the same year.

This projection came as a surprise when it was feared the fuel subsidies will ditch the growth forecast. The growth was mainly contributed by the industrial sector, followed by services and agriculture sectors. In the agriculture sector, a robust growth was seen in four major crops — cotton, rice, sugarcane and maize — while a dip was noted in wheat production.

The 105th meeting of the National Accounts Committee, chaired by Planning Secretary Dawood Muhmmad Bareach, approved the figures of gross domestic product (GDP) for the fiscal year 2021-22 and revised figure for 2020-21.


Forecast much higher than IMF, World Bank projections

An upward trend in the growth was also seen in the revised figures for the year 2020-21, when it was estimated at 5.74pc, which was provisionally projected at 5.57pc.

The size of the economy rose to $380 billion in 2021-22 from the revised figure of $346.76bn the previous year. The size of the economy grew in dollar terms as the rupee strengthened against the greenback — the highest-ever increase in any year.

Per capita income has also been calculated at Rs314,353, up from Rs268,223 for 2020-21. The per capita income in dollar terms has jumped to $1,798 from previous year’s projections of $1,676.

The revised GDP growth rate for the year 2020-21 is 5.74pc, which was provisionally estimated at 5.57pc. The crops sub-sector has improved from 5.92pc to 5.96pc. Other crops have improved from provisional growth of 8.08pc to 8.27pc in revised estimates. The industrial sector’s growth in the revised estimates is 7.81pc, which was 7.79pc in the provisional estimates, while the services sector’s growth has improved from 5.7pc to 6pc.

The provisional GDP growth rate for the year 2021-22 is estimated at 5.97pc. This is the outcome of a broad-based growth witnessed in all sectors of the economy. The growth in agricultural, industrial and services sectors is 4.40pc, 7.19pc and 6.19pc, respectively. The growth in the agriculture sector was achieved despite a fall in wheat production.

The growth in important crops during this year is 7.24pc against last year’s 5.83pc. The growth in production of important crops — cotton, rice, sugarcane and maize — are estimated at 17.9pc, 10.7pc, 9.4pc and 19pc, respectively.

Cotton crop production increased from last year’s 7.1 million bales to 8.3m bales; rice output from 8.4m tonnes to 9.3m tonnes; sugarcane production from 81m tonnes to 88.7m tonnes; and maize production rose from 8.4m tonnes to 10.6m tonnes.

Wheat production decreased from 27.5m tonnes in 2020-21 to 26.4m tonnes in 2021-22. Other crops showed growth of 5.44pc, mainly because of an increase in production of pulses, vegetables, fodder, oilseeds and fruits.

The livestock sector is showing a growth of 3.26pc this year against 2.38pc last year, forestry grows 6.13pc against a negative growth of 0.45pc last year and fishing stands at 0.35pc this year against 0.73pc last year.

The overall industrial sector shows an increase of 7.19pc in 2021-22, while it recorded a growth of 7.81pc in 2020-21. The mining and quarrying sector has declined by 4.47pc due to a fall in production of other minerals.

The large-scale manufacturing industry is driven primarily by QIM data (from July 2021 to March 2022) which shows an increase of 10.48pc. Major contributors to this growth are food (11.67pc), tobacco (16.7pc), textile (3.19pc), wearing apparel (33.95pc), wood products (157.5pc), chemicals (7.79pc), iron & steel products (16.55pc), automobiles (54.10pc), furniture (301.83pc) and other manufacturing (37.83pc).

The electricity, gas and water industry shows a growth of 7.86pc, mainly due to an increase in subsidies in 2021-22. Value added in the construction industry, mainly driven by construction-related expenditures by industries, has registered a modest growth of 3.14pc in 2021-22 against 2.48pc the previous year, mainly due to an increase in general government spending.

The services sector shows a growth of 6.19pc in 2021-22 against 6pc in 2020-21. The wholesale and retail trade industry grew by 10.04pc. It is dependent on the output of agriculture, manufacturing and imports. The growth in trade value added relating to agriculture, manufacturing and imports stands at 3.99pc, 9.82pc and 19.93pc, respectively.

The transportation and storage industry has increased by 5.42pc due to increase in gross value addition of railways (41.85pc), air transport (26.56pc), road transport (4.99pc) and storage. Accommodation and food services activities have increased by 4.07pc. Similarly, information and communication increased by 11.9pc due to improvement in telecommunication, computer programming, consultancy and related activities.

The finance and insurance industry shows an overall increase of 4.93pc, mainly due to an increase in deposits and loans. Real estate activities grew by 3.7pc, while public administration and social security (general government) activities posted a negative growth of 1.23pc due to high deflator. Education has witnessed a growth of 8.65pc due to public sector expenditure. Human health and social work activities increased by 2.25pc due to general government expenditures. The provisional growth in other private services is 3.76pc.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2022

https://www.dawn.com/news/1690400/pakistan-exceeds-expectations-as-growth-rate-nears-6pc

lolAre we surprised that this hogwash of a news coming after this?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My hunch was correct, Dr Zubair has resigned. Why do we try to destroy institutions. Facts cannot be suppressed. <a href="https://t.co/FHtAp1chvX">pic.twitter.com/FHtAp1chvX</a></p>— Shaukat Tarin (@shaukat_tarin) <a href="https://twitter.com/shaukat_tarin/status/1526814450803691522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Mamoon]

Stats and figures are more reliable and authentic then one man opinion. Atif despite his pedigree is just an outsider looking in no different to you and me it's the numbers that show the true picture and most to all economic indicators look good so credit to PTI for these decent numbers.

These “numbers” quoted by the cult-followers are accessible to one of the leading economists in the world as well, and he has a much greater capacity to understand and comprehend what these numbers indicate.

Moreover, he has explained why he thinks Imran left the economy in a worse shape. His assessment, which is a very worthy and reliable assessment considered his status, is yet to be scrutinized point by point by any cult-follower.

This is the same Atif Mian that Imran badly wanted as economic advisor and cult-followers heaped praises on him. However, it won’t be surprising if the same cult-followers start abusing him now and criticize him for being part of the “conspiracy”

The assessment of one of the most respected economists in the world >>>>> delusions of cult-followers who will believe Imran if he tells that the earth is flat.

 

[Mamoon]

Now twitter posts are standard and truth for Mamoon ) awwww feeling pity..

What next ?

Twitter post by one of the leading economists in the world, who has explained his reasons why Imran left the economy in a worse shape. This is the economist that Imran desperately wanted as economic advisor.

So his assessment holds a million times more credibility than the delusions of the followers of Imran.

 

[Mamoon]

As I said you quoting hm is an embarrassment for you. It's you that claimed IK faked the bad economy when he took over and here you are quoting him telling us that it was bad)

Atif Mian’s assessment is damning - PTI’s economic performance was inferior to PMLN’s. If you disagree with him then please go ahead and debate with him on Twitter. He has explained in detail which he think so, so you should be able to disprove him point by point.

After all, cult-followers know more about economics than one of the leading economists in the world so it shouldn’t be hard for you.

 

[Xoib]

These “numbers” quoted by the cult-followers are accessible to one of the leading economists in the world as well, and he has a much greater capacity to understand and comprehend what these numbers indicate.

Moreover, he has explained why he thinks Imran left the economy in a worse shape. His assessment, which is a very worthy and reliable assessment considered his status, is yet to be scrutinized point by point by any cult-follower.

This is the same Atif Mian that Imran badly wanted as economic advisor and cult-followers heaped praises on him. However, it won’t be surprising if the same cult-followers start abusing him now and criticize him for being part of the “conspiracy”

The assessment of one of the most respected economists in the world >>>>> delusions of cult-followers who will believe Imran if he tells that the earth is flat.

Atif Mian may be a brilliant mind but he has no experience or past record of managing an economy of a country heck he has not even managed finance of a small medium company being a brilliant academic does not guarantee it will translate to brilliance in the practical world so I will definitely back actual stats with facts and figures over an analysis of a guy with just theoretical knowledge and no experience.

Maybe with Atif input these numbers might have hit 8-9% but we don't know since he was not there based on raw factual data a 6% growth rate is exceeding the global average which makes PTI managment of an economy a success compared with other global economics in a Covid hit world

 

[MenInG]

Atif's view is ONE view, its not THE view of our economy is it?

 

[Xoib]

Atif's view is ONE view, its not THE view of our economy is it?

Exactly Atif may be right based on his vision maybe the results underperformed of what he thought the economy was capable off but the actual data puts Pakistan numbers in a better stead then the global average and that's what matters in the end.

 

[Hermoine Green]

Atif's view is ONE view, its not THE view of our economy is it?

Indeed, ground based reality is different as compared to views.

 

[Bewal Express]

Atif Mian’s assessment is damning - PTI’s economic performance was inferior to PMLN’s. If you disagree with him then please go ahead and debate with him on Twitter. He has explained in detail which he think so, so you should be able to disprove him point by point.

After all, cult-followers know more about economics than one of the leading economists in the world so it shouldn’t be hard for you.

What is damning is your in your desperation you have quoted a guy that humiliates you and your lies. You said on many occasions on here and there are 1000s of wintnesses that have seen your guff that IK faked the crisis and here you are telling us that your favourite economist agrees with IK. What can be more humiliating that providing evidence against your lies. Atif Mian is just bitter than he was kicked off the PMs committee and rightly so.

 

[Bewal Express]

Atif Mian’s assessment is damning - PTI’s economic performance was inferior to PMLN’s. If you disagree with him then please go ahead and debate with him on Twitter. He has explained in detail which he think so, so you should be able to disprove him point by point.

After all, cult-followers know more about economics than one of the leading economists in the world so it shouldn’t be hard for you.

What we also know is that since IK left the economy has started to crash, where is your proper PM and why doesnt he not have a proper plan, why is asking the Army to intervene, is he not capable of making any decisions? What utter shambles your crooks have been, never in any country have we seen such rubbish and apparently he came in to sort it out.

 

[Extra_Cover]

Desperate attempts made here by usual suspects presenting ONE view as THE view. In past the OPINIONS have also been passed down as FACTS by same individuals.

I'm not saying that Imran is a genius on handling fiscal matters or economy. However there are some ground realities which we cannot turn a blind eye upon. During Imran's tenure of 3.5 years he has had some of the challenges that none of the other Governments before him had.

Covid-19. This was once in a lifetime sort of a crisis that had a massive effect across the world. The steep decline in markets followed by a surge had an up and down effect and its shockwaves are still not finished. I don't have massive understanding of economics but even I can foresee a recession the world is falling into slowly but surely and Covid-19 would be the trigger point of the coming recession.

Russia invades Ukraine. Although Imran did not had to face the brunt of this fallout as the fallout will just elevate going forward across the world and this will have an effect on our economy. Imran could have capitalised on this chaos across the world by striking deals with Russia like India is doing at the moment. We don't stress enough on this but good deals in this chaos would have helped Pakistan's economy massively. Just when we needed our Government to show some spine we are presented with a spineless Government (aka snakes).

Overall our way of gauging economy is just one word which is inflation. We ignore the metrics such as GDP growth, employment, fiscal surplus/deficit, etc and just have one focus which is inflation. Even on that front the world is facing massive inflation surge due to rise in global energy prices together with markets not being stable enough. In Europe alone inflation is touching double digits in certain places yet we are concerned with our inflation levels.

I also want to add one thing. I'm very surprised when no one is held accountable for the actions they took in ensuring that Pakistan economy is ruined. One simple example of this is taking loans. We have taken so much external loans in the past that no one cares to ask the people responsible as to where these loan money was used. If these loans were used in setting up business, factories, etc then surely these assets would have been yielding revenue by now to pay off these loans but clearly that wasn't the case so I'm curious to know how did we end up eating so much money. We are in such a state now for sometime that we are taking additional loans to simply pay off the previous loan's interest. This hole we are in is just getting bigger but no one till now has been held accountable for their economic decisions that made us fall this far.