Wordfall, by Kaleem Omar

Despite being the mainstay of Pakistan’s economy, agriculture was something of a neglected sector in the Musharraf era

This does not mean that no attention was paid to this sector. But a lot more should have been done to address some the sector’s key problem areas, including adopting less wasteful methods of irrigation and developing crops with higher per-acre yields than the existing varieties. Read the rest of this entry »

That’s why it’s important to remember that when putting cheese in the mousetrap, always leave room for the mouse. That’s also why it is said that if you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door.

First, there was brinkmanship with its devious diplomacy, calculated deceptions and sabre-rattling. Then, there was one-upmanship, the fine art of getting an advantage over others or showing that one is better than them without actually cheating. Then, along came gamesmanship with its attendant books, including one entitled “The Games People Play” explaining the intricacies of such favourite pastimes as power games, social games and business games. Read the rest of this entry »

A key element in the formulation of a feasible long-term path of development is a national marketing strategy aimed at optimal economic performance.

Four major problems continue to plague many developing nations: low levels of living; the problem of population growth; a lack of jobs; and a deteriorating plus inadequate infrastructure.

There is a huge per capita income gap between rich and poor nations. Switzerland, one of the world’s richest nations in GDP per capita terms, has over 400 times the per capita income of Ethiopia, one of the world’s poorest countries. Japan’s GDP per capita, at $ 34,715, is 40 times higher than Pakistan’s, at $ 850 (the latest government figure). Read the rest of this entry »

President Musharraf’s offer at the SCO summit in Shanghai to provide an energy corridor to Western China and the Central Asian Republics could yield billions of dollars in economic benefits for Pakistan.

Addressing senior executives of the All China Federation of Commerce and Industry (ACFIC) in Shanghai on June 14, and later addressing a summit meeting of the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the same city on June 15, President Pervez Musharraf said his government was trying to convert Pakistan into an energy corridor for Western China and the landlocked Central Asian Republics, through the seaport at Gwadar and new rail and road networks. He also offered to extend the proposed Iran-Pakistani-India (IPI) gas pipeline to energy-deficient Western China. Read the rest of this entry »

With no significant additional generation capacity due to come on stream for at least another two years, the fast growing demand for power is likely to exceed the country’s total installed generation capacity by the middle of next year.

According to the latest Pakistan Economic Survey, which was released by the Ministry of Finance just before the June 5 announcement of the federal budget for fiscal 2006-07, the economy has grown at an average rate of over 7.5 per cent per annum in the last three years, thus positioning itself as “one of the fastest growing economies of the Asian region.” Read the rest of this entry »

The budget to be announced today by Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan is likely to be motivated, at least in part, by certain political imperatives that have to do with the fact that 2007 is an election year, when elections will be held not only for the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies but also for the office of the President of Pakistan.

Although President Pervez Musharraf has not yet formally declared that he will be a candidate for re-election, all the indications suggest that he intends to run. It remains to be seen whether he will take off his uniform before announcing his candidacy or continue as the chief of the army staff. Again, however, the likelihood is that he will choose the latter option. Read the rest of this entry »

President Musharraf wants the forthcoming budget’s Rs 415 billion Public Sector Development Programme to focus on the common man. That’s a good idea. In an era of sharply rising prices, however, what budget makers have to figure out is how to translate this idea into reality.

Reviewing a presentation on the forthcoming budget’s Public Sector Development Programme at a meeting in Islamabad on May 25 at which Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was also present, President Pervez Musharraf directed the government to concentrate all its resources on making a “visible improvement” in the life of the common man. “We must utilise all available resources on bringing a qualitative change in the lives of people and ensure wider distribution of economic benefits,” Musharraf said. Read the rest of this entry »

Budget deficits have long been a chronic problem in this country. The deficit for the current fiscal year is expected to go up from the target figure of 3.8 per cent of GDP forecast in June 2005 to over 4.2 per cent of GDP by the time the final figures for fiscal 2005-06 are compiled.

The only surplus budgets this country has ever had were the budgets presented by Liaquat Ali Khan’s government in 1948 and 1949. All the budgets since then have been deficit budgets. The forthcoming budget for fiscal 2006-07, which is expected to be presented before the National Assembly on June 5, is going to be another deficit budget, with the deficit likely to be of the order of over 4 per cent of GDP. Read the rest of this entry »

Advocates of globalisation contend that it is the best thing to come along since sliced bread, but its opponents argue that it is one of the principal causes of the growing income gap between rich and poor nations.

When share prices on Wall Street nosedived in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, billions of dollars in global funds fled the United States and moved into Europe. Fund managers loaded up on European stocks and bonds, reasoning that corporate profits in Europe would be the best of a bad lot and the European governments would be hit less hard by the costs of reconstruction, retaliation and revenge – the new “Three Rs”. Read the rest of this entry »

With a Pakistani foreign ministry official set to take over as secretary general of the 10-nation Economic Cooperation Organisation in August this year, Islamabad can play a key role in promoting the idea of free trade between member states.

Addressing the 9th summit meeting of the heads of state and governments of the Economic Cooperation Organisation in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku on Friday, May 5, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz urged member states to give priority to making the region a free trade area. Aziz said that free trade was central to regional economic integration. “It can unlock latent energy and transform our socio-economic landscape. It opens the door to a wider market and economies of scale,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »