Rescuing Fact From Fiction
Pakistan’s economy is on the move, and why not? We are a geographical crossroads country blessed with (primarily) an agriculture economy and increasingly finding our industrial bearings. In the high-tech and services sector we are poised to take a quantum leap forward. We have a long coastline waiting to be exploited and a vast hinterland that can be developed for agriculture. The stock market is overvalued but not by much, the present benign govt attitude is of “letting a hundred crooks bloom” in the hope that the benefits of the booming economy will “trickle down” to the masses, the players who control the market and manipulate the “corrections” are not about to be corrected. Take NAB’s hasty withdrawal from investigating sugar shortages! It is in the political arena that we are badly mired, reliance being placed on corrupt elements who will pocket the goodies of “trickle-down” economics themselves rather than allowing it to fitter down to those who really need succour. Such chameleon loyalty does not mix well with the image of honesty that Gen Pervez Musharraf brought with him when he came to power. They are the ones who need Musharraf’s patronage, it is not the other way around. They cannot (and will not) deliver for anyone except themselves.
