We must have sustained econominc growth year after year, and continue to pump more funds into bringing down poverty.
**Pakistan has become one of Asia’s fastest growing economies: VOA reports
**
WASHINGTON, May 14 (APP)- The Voice of America, quoting financial analysts, Friday said that in the recent years, “Pakistan has become one of the Asia’s fastest growing economies.” The country expects annual gross domestic product growth to top eight percent next year and its foreign reserves have ballooned from $1 billion in 2001 to more than $12 billion today. Benjamin Sand of VOA in a report states that international economists say the changes were set in motion in 1999 when President Pervez Musharraf instituted a series of structural reforms.
The government of President Musharraf vowed to tackle corruption while privatizing state businesses and overhauling the country’s banking and tax systems. The report says, in the wake of nuclear tests in 1998, the international community imposed sanctions, due to which, Pakistan’s economy remained weak. The sanctions remained imposed until just after September 11, 2001 when Pakistan became a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism. The report quotes director of the Asian Development Bank in Pakistan saying that President Musharraf’s support for the United States transformed Pakistan’s reputation and helped boost its economy. “As a result of 9/11, Pakistan, working with the world community, has been able to demonstrate that it is serious about assisting the world in tackling terrorism,” he said. “There has been a lot of confidence generated and as a result, a lot of assistance has come to the country.” Europe joined the United States in granting debt relief for Pakistan and sending billions of dollars in aid. The government cut its fiscal deficit by more than half and falling interest rates made it easier for business to borrow. That has helped Pakistan’s manufacturers enjoy double-digit growth. Bumper wheat and cotton crops also helped boost the agricultural and textile sectors.
Today, the economy is so strong President Musharraf says Pakistan no longer needs international charity.“Our economy can now stand on its own two feet,” President Musharraf said. “Therefore, I go around the world not begging and borrowing, asking for aid, asking for money. I go for trade and I say we don’t want aid, give us trade, not aid.” Some leaders predict huge growth in Pakistan’s fledging telecommunications industry as well as its textile and energy exports. However, the report refers to three challenges pointed out by the director of ADB-- improving Pakistan’s infrastructure, from roads and highways to ports and power supply, is a condition for growth; it must be ensured that environment remains safe for foreign direct investment; and that economic growth requires to be more evenly distributed. One-third of the population still lives below the poverty line. According to the United Nations, nearly 60 percent of Pakistan’s 150 million people are non-literate. VOA report states that President Musharraf says improving living standards is his top priority. “In a capitalist market, in a free market economy, distribution is the issue, and therefore we have to focus on the issue of human resource development and poverty alleviation,” he said. President Musharraf also lays stress on better education, which could lead to reduction in poverty. The report says that there has been a sharp increase in funding for public schools; while madressahs were being brought into the mainstream education system, with stress on learning of basic skills and new subjects.
