A leading voice in Pakistan’s economic discourse has issued a clarion call: fix the politics, or forget economic recovery. Sakib Sherani’s Dawn article exposes how entrenched corruption and poor governance are sabotaging the country’s financial health.
At its heart, the argument is that economies are political creations. Supremacy of the political realm means its dysfunctions ripple everywhere, demanding an integrated reform approach.
Sherani lambasts superficial economic reform rhetoric that sidesteps political rot as outright fraud. Sustainable growth via innovation-driven investments hinges on uprooting the elite’s rent-seeking apparatus.
He debunks elite narratives glorifying corporate reinvention, pointing to brutal realities: sky-high disrupted electricity tariffs, tax burdens surpassing 50%, overvalued rupees, smuggling bonanzas birthing a $68 billion black market assaulting formal operations.
The litany of business impediments continues—overreaching officialdom, regulatory thickets, corruption tolls, workforce skill deficits, privatized essentials spending, gang extortions, patronage job quotas, incessant policy shifts. Competitiveness under siege like this is impossible.
Ultimately, Sherani urges a political reckoning: thorough, transparent reforms to purge obstacles, nurture competitive dynamism, and propel Pakistan from crisis to opportunity.