View from Dawn: The solution to Pakistan’s economic woes lie in trade with India

The Pakistan Democratic Movement coalition may have failed to set a direction for the flailing economy in its rather unimaginative second budget, but trade and industry leaders have been quite clear about how they believe Pakistan can chart a way out of its present crisis.

They have been pointing out some common-sense measures that successive governments have failed to implement, which include steps like fixing the country’s justice system, improving education delivery, reforming the bureaucracy, enforcing contracts, rightsizing the bloated machinery of the state, and forcing it to divest from businesses that have become a burden on the public exchequer.

The right interventions in these areas, most experts agree, can help create more wealth for both the citizenry and the government. Unfortunately, as the past year has shown, the country’s managers have seemed clueless about where to begin despite finding themselves in the midst of a major crisis.

The chairman of one of the largest conglomerates in the country, in a recent interview to Dawn, pointed to India as a case study. New Delhi implemented tough reforms following its last International Monetary Fund programme some three decades ago, and is now reaping the rewards for its labours. He also echoed what many have been urging for a while now – that...

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