General Economic Updates

SoulSpokesman said:
@hydrabadi_arab

Hydra bro,

Pakistan's 4 star/5-star hotel inventory seems to be rather sparse for a country its size and a large affluent population at the top. Relatively smallish cities like Amritsar and Chandigarh alone have around 2000 room keys each.

Regards
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Lots of new construction going on, its about to double to 12k in 2 years.
 
SoulSpokesman said:
@Pakistanithinktank

Doesn't the good FM saab do something about it?

Regards
Click to expand...


Sometimes it feels like Pakistan is a place where even the brightest, most honest people lose their ability to think clearly. You can bring in a world‑class economist, someone who has spent their life studying how nations grow but once they enter our political and bureaucratic maze, the system swallows their common sense. It’s as if the environment itself forces people to abandon logic and fall into the same old patterns. I call it feudal mindset.

I keep hearing politicians and journalists repeat the same poetic lines: “Our friendship with China is higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea.” Beautiful words but when it comes to learning from China’s actual economic model, suddenly everyone goes blind. China built special economic zones, industrial clusters, export discipline, long‑term planning. We admire the friendship but ignore the lessons.

The same thing happens with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others. We sign alliances, shake hands, take photos, make speeches. But nobody explains how any of this will improve the life of the average Pakistani. Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with SEZs and mega‑projects that bypass local bottlenecks. The UAE has modernized its entire governance system using technology. Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, they fixed their systems through discipline, reforms, and long‑term thinking. That’s why global companies are building data centers and major infrastructure in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan, we still operate on short‑term gains. Agricultural land is converted into real estate schemes, and then we import wheat because our own production suffers. Industries that were thriving 20–25 years ago have quietly moved to Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Malaysia, places that offer stability, lower costs, and predictable policies.

And people are leaving. Hundreds of thousands, sometimes close to a million, Pakistanis migrate every year because they see no jobs, no security, no peace. It’s heartbreaking to watch a country lose its talent because the system refuses to change.

Our tax structure tells the same story. Pakistan’s tax‑to‑GDP ratio sits around 10–11%, one of the lowest in the region. Only a few million people file taxes in a nation of 240 million. The informal economy is massive, agriculture is barely taxed, and elite groups enjoy exemptions and loopholes. Ordinary people live hand‑to‑mouth while a small circle benefits from a system designed to protect them.

And now, the establishment has opened the Pandora’s box of creating more provinces, as if redrawing borders will magically fix governance. Without structural reforms, without fixing taxation, bureaucracy, economic planning, and accountability, more provinces simply mean more bureaucracy, more political fragmentation, and more Maryam Nawaz‑style provincial leaderships. It’s multiplying the problem, not solving it.

Until Pakistan confronts its structural issues head‑on, nothing will change. Not alliances, not slogans, not new provinces. The system will keep producing the same outcomes, no matter who sits in the chair.
 
@Pakistanithinktank

Agricultural land is converted into real estate schemes, and then we import wheat because our own production suffers.

Well, if the farmers who have sold their agricultural land can buy farmland elsewhere and invest in their farms wouldn't it solve your farm production problem?

Regards
 
SoulSpokesman said:
@Pakistanithinktank

Agricultural land is converted into real estate schemes, and then we import wheat because our own production suffers.

Well, if the farmers who have sold their agricultural land can buy farmland elsewhere and invest in their farms wouldn't it solve your farm production problem?

Regards
Click to expand...

In Pakistan, the Establishment can seize land from anyone because there’s effectively no legal barrier strong enough to stop them, not even supreme courts. If they can keep a former prime minister in jail for three years on cases widely viewed as politically motivated, then nothing is off the table. Malik Riaz was handed prime land for pennies because he aligned himself with the Establishment but the moment he refused to turn against Imran Khan, he was pushed out of the country. Pakistan is a deeply complex state, run by power‑hungry actors who will go to any length to protect their influence and they don’t care about public. I call it modern day slavery.
 
Pakistanithinktank said:
In Pakistan, the Establishment can seize land from anyone because there’s effectively no legal barrier strong enough to stop them, not even supreme courts. If they can keep a former prime minister in jail for three years on cases widely viewed as politically motivated, then nothing is off the table. Malik Riaz was handed prime land for pennies because he aligned himself with the Establishment but the moment he refused to turn against Imran Khan, he was pushed out of the country. Pakistan is a deeply complex state, run by power‑hungry actors who will go to any length to protect their influence.
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Pakistan need to work on increasing yield per acre which is half then what it should be. That will free up land for other imported crops like seed oil etc

Out of 3 biggest cities, only Lahore is build on agricultural land. Karachi is barren waste land and is Pakistan biggest city. Rawalpindi/Islamabad again very limited agricultural potential. The land isn't a problem, per acre yield is.

Lahore is 850k acres of which 300k acres still is irrigated. 2 million acres more can be irrigated in Thal and Bahawalpur with modern irrigation systems.
 
kambhakt said:
www.dawn.com

Water scarcity in Pakistan — a geopolitical ticking time bomb

Pakistan’s water woes are spilling into every corner of its national fabric — from food and farming to diplomacy and disaster.
www.dawn.com

"Pakistan currently stands as the 15th most water-stressed nation in the world."
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Pakistan receive 140MAF/annual from indus per year. The problem is water management.

10 million acres more land can be cultivated still. The work have already started by foujis. Just need to sort out canal building issue between provinces.

Thal/Cholistan arid land is being handed over for corporate farming

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hydrabadi_arab said:
Pakistan receive 140MAF/annual from indus per year. The problem is water management.

10 million acres more land can be cultivated still. The work have already started by foujis. Just need to sort out canal building issue between provinces.

Thal/Cholistan arid land is being handed over for corporate farming

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Click to expand...

So maybe first start work on water management before increasing the acreage.
 
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