ON 20 June 2023, Government of Pakistan presented a plan for the economic revival of the country. This plan has been named as the “Economic Revival Plan-2023” and aims at focusing on “harnessing the country’s untapped potential in key sectors”. The plan is based on indigenous development, making use of local resources, besides attracting foreign investment primarily from GCC states. Pakistan Army has fully backed the plan and decided to oversee the project. Army Chief, General Asim Munir, in his address assured the Federal Government for an all-out support of the military in the implementation of the plan. Army Chief further stressed that revival of Pakistan’s economy is essential for reclaiming Pakistan’s rightful place in the comity of nations. In order to streamline the procedures for implementation of the plan, a ‘Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC)’ has been established. It will facilitate and streamline interface for the investor community while removing all the bottlenecks in investment in the country. Pakistan Army will play a key role in this process of facilitation for investment.
The salient feature of this plan include promotion of export-oriented foreign direct investment (FDI) where the country’s untapped potential in key sectors of defence production, agricultural, livestock, minerals and mining, information technology and energy will be fully utilized. The modus operandi for the entire exercise is, using an indigenous developmental model where local resources are fully utilized for the economic revival while simultaneously attracting the investment from friendly countries. Under the slogan of “one government” and “collective government” the economic revival model will operate through a mechanism of collaboration between the Centre and provinces for timely decision-making and undoing any hurdle or barrier in the way of investment and business promotion. If implemented in letter and spirit, the project will prove bigger than CPEC project. Besides, Pakistan and China have decided to speed up the project of CPEC which was relegated during the previous regime.
Indeed, there is an essential relationship between national security and national economy; “national security hinges on economic sovereignty. National security revolves around economic security and that sovereignty or dignity comes under stress without self-sufficiency and economic independence”. Currently, inflation is highest in the country and the Pakistani Rupee is continuously plummeting. The industrial sector of Pakistan is struggling to operate with many large companies partially suspending their working. Indeed, Pakistan is facing all sorts of challenges to its survival and political forces are fighting to gain the powers. In January 2023, after attending his first meeting of the NSC, General Asim Munir had to say, “Pakistan is passing through one of her most critical junctures and this requires the development of national consensus by all stakeholders to sail through the confronted challenges of economy and terrorism.” Pakistan is ranked 34th among 39 countries in the Asia–Pacific region.
Indeed, this positioning is very low and the overall economic score of Pakistan is below the regional and world averages. Besides, Pakistan’s external debt rose from $34b in 2021 to $38b in 2022 and is expected to rise to $40b in 2023. Economy of Pakistan started slowing down in 2019 and reached its lowest ebb in 2022. The economic freedom score of Pakistan is 48.8, grading its economy as 153rd freest in the 2022 Index. Pakistan is facing extreme economic crisis in its history and there is an immediate need to take measures for saving the country from economic default.
The external debt of Pakistan has increased manifolds and its currency is trading at its lowest rate against the US dollar (1USD=287 PKR). IMF and other financial institutions are posing very tough conditions for the loan facility which amount to compromises on the issues of national sovereignty. While the national economy of Pakistan is sliding downwards, there has been unprecedented mushroom growth of the various cartels in Pakistan. These cartels are controlling the prices and supply of almost all critical food items and petroleum with or without consent of the government. The successive governments have become hostage to these internal and external cartels.
In the process of economic revival of Pakistan 2023-2035, the ‘Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC)’ is likely to create job opportunities for the unemployed youth of Pakistan. As a rough estimate, SIFC will provide job opportunities for 15 to 20 million people directly while it will provide indirect job opportunities for another 75 to 100 million people of Pakistan in the next five years. As announced, this project will generate “exports of $70 billion and import substitution of equal amount in the next four to five years. “The [SIFC] plan will also increase Pakistan’s foreign direct investment by $100 billion.”
Pakistan Army has consented to provide its services in the management, coordination and the success of the project. It will have a dominating role towards the success of the project until its take-off. Thereafter, Pak Army will slowly and gradually reduce its direct role. The significance of economy can be imagined from a famous quote, “Economy is the start and end of everything” for every sovereign state. Despite heavy taxes and exceptionally high levies on all goods and utilities, the economy of the state is falling down with each passing day.
The way forward is: a massive restructuring of the economic management of Pakistan through serious, innovative and revolutionary steps where foreign economic dependence needs to be minimized. The non-developmental expenditure must be reduced substantially by imposing a ban on luxuries of government officials, elite class and bureaucracy. Let’s hope that the SIFC works for a workable plan to revive the economy of Pakistan while making use of indigenous national resources of Pakistan.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
Email: [email protected]
