I think we need reforms & I mean serious reforms, and it must include we getting away from dependency on Arabs & Americans. We also need to understand that reason we are in the mess is b/c of our dependency on them & their ability to manipulates us. We need to normalize our relationship with India, Iran, & we should look toward CARs, Russia & China for our trade & energy needs.
Getting away from dependency is a good thing.
However establishing trade relations and providing services should not be considered "dependency". From the perspective of trade and services, the only place to go is to the West. Americans, Germans, French, UK, and Italians spend a combined total of close to $8 trillion a year. Add Japan and S. Korea to this and the total is pretty close to $10 trillion a year. There is no China, or CAR, or Iran that can ever come close to this HUGE market.
Moreover people trade with you based on better but cheaper goods. Pakistan can never sell cheaper in China, India, BDesh, S Lanka, or even Iran. Thus from trade and services point of view India, CARs, TRUCKs, Russia, and China are duds. Their combined spending per year is not even $0.5 trillions and their labor rates are either lower than Pakistanis, or the slightly higher.
The only thing Pakistan can do is "buy" goods and services from India or China. Thus balance of trade cannot favor Pakistan. We have been "net losers" financially by trading with China or India.
Remember! You trade with beggars and remain a beggar. Or you can trade with rich people and hopefully one day you will be rich too.
Think about it, the West offers a business environment of $10 trillions and their labor costs are much higher than those in Pakistan.
America alone offers 6 times bigger market than beggars combined spending of $0.5 trillions.
So let's all come out this made up Islamic socialistic dreams and start working our backs off for the West (just like Indians and Chinese are doing right now).
Internal reforms and trade with the West is the only way out from our miserable economic situation.