Pakistan shifts from stabilisation to export-led growth, says finance minister

[VCheng]

Then you know the Tamasha/politicization would have started by the affectees and their supporters.

Nothing a quick U-turn cannot resolve.

 

[Goenitz]

Oh what a relief. Thank you Asim Munir for not enacting a complete dictatorship, indebted sir. Unbelievable line of reasoning.

And I've had acquanitances who had to go to prison (or a safe house to be exact), and who had to be fired from their jobs. So I'd say it is a dictatorship. Or shall we play a semantics game here first?

In the West, even parents cannot dictate what their children should do. In Pakistan, a chowkidar can dictate who to make foreign relations with, handle our finances, economy, courts, etc. That chowkidar is using public resources and the Army as his servant to commit crimes against Pakistan and Pakistanis.
Just recently, SIFC admitted that it has considerably failed to attract investment.

SIFC feels high taxes discourage investments

SIFC National Coordinator Lt Gen Sarfraz Ahmed acknowledges concerns raised by business leaders about high corporate tax rates.

www.dawn.com

The government declare economic success on securing loans from IMF and selling national assets, while 3.5 millions Pakistanis have left since 2021
2020: 225,213
2021: 288,280
2022: 765,000–832,339.
2023: 862,625.
2024: 727,381 (Approximately a 15% decline from 2023).
2025 (Projected/Early Data): 172,000–350,000 individuals left in the first half of the year.

 

[Goenitz]

I think I know of someone who could have done this in 90 days.

For any political claim/manifesto, people can vote him out in the next election. What is the issue?

 

[Jango]

The first part is silly innuendo so I don't even want to bother responding.

It had to come down to silly innuendo because you fail to understand the power imbalance of it all. Nothing wrong in Fauji Foundation having ownership. Tomorrow, nothing wrong with DHA grabbing up Bahria. I've had batchmates sitting in IPP control rooms who were pushed out by faujis just to give the owners a message. But you here tell me everyone is inviting Fauji group with open arms into everything. I've worked in the very gas fields which supply gas to FFC. And the lopsided nature of business that fauji corporations do in this country is nothing to be proud of. But for you all is kosher because our great fauj is doing it so we should all just take it as it is.

You want to run an actual country or run a fiefdom? Your response would probably be "No one else is coming in, so fauj has to take up the mantle". Have you ever wondered maybe no one is coming in precisely because of you?

Last part, this is not a semantics issue. This is the first time Punjab/KP has had to endure something at the hands of the very system they have created and nurtured, thus this hue and cry. What you see currently is NOTHING compared to what this very system can mete out. So hold on to your debt of gratitude, you may need it later.

Here come the fauji dhamkis. Are you even listening to yourself here? This is the first time you are getting this treatment, so just take it lying down, it can get much worse. Yessir, will be awaiting when I get picked up by a Vigo. Thankfully they can't get me fired from my job.

Let me also be frank here. I am willing to grant that this system has done PTI/IK some injustice but I also feel they are trying to right the ship for the economy/security. This, you of course will never concede/grant given the very binary space you and many other PTI supporters live in, thus these pages are filled with constant criticism of everything taken on by the current system.

The binary space is created by the very folks you are defending here. Red line lag gayi hai, us ki shakal nhn dekhna chahta, media ban, whatnot.

You so nonchalantly dismiss it as 'some injustice', while people's lives have been uprooted and practically destroyed. These were middle class newly weds, families of retired officers. Only crime, speaking up or tweeting. What's the justification for picking up an old woman and keeping her for weeks just because she spoke up against you? That too in a DHA whatsapp group?! Can't you see the power grab going on in front of your eyes?

They are trying to right the ship, by the very people who actually wrecked the ship. Kal ko PIA privatization par wohi log ballay ballay kar rahay thay jinhon nay PIA ko yahan tak pauhaunchaya. Same goes with terrorism. Right the ship in security, while we are the ones who fkced it up in the first place. Righting the economy, by the same people who wrecked it in the first place.

Shahbaz Sharif was giving lectures on expensive IPP contracts when he was the chap who signed them in the first place. Are you seeing the irony here?

Why do you need lifetime immunity for righting the economy?

The reality is, doing the same thing again and again doesn't change the outcomes. This fantasy of having a strong man and being in this China delusion isn't going to get you anywhere. China or any of the other countries didn't progress because they had a single person at the top ruling with an iron first, there's much more to that.

I couldn't care less about PTI, hang all the bastards please. But even then having a self glorified Field Marshal at the top, with lifetime immunity and absolute power, won't get you sustainable outcomes. Sure, you can have some flashy headlines, SIFC brought in 20 billion USD investment, but the ground reality remains the same.

Not to say that everything is going wrong. There are definitely some much needed measures that have taken place. But these dictator fantasies always seem rosy in the short term, but results are almost always disappointing.

More than happy to wait it out and see our glorious days brought about by our glorious Field Marshal, I hope they come. I'll be the first one to send a mithay ka dabba to your place. But not holding my breath.

Until then...salute to my glorious Field Marshal!

 

[Jango]

In the West, even parents cannot dictate what their children should do. In Pakistan, a chowkidar can dictate who to make foreign relations with, handle our finances, economy, courts, etc. That chowkidar is using public resources and the Army as his servant to commit crimes against Pakistan and Pakistanis.
Just recently, SIFC admitted that it has considerably failed to attract investment.

SIFC feels high taxes discourage investments

SIFC National Coordinator Lt Gen Sarfraz Ahmed acknowledges concerns raised by business leaders about high corporate tax rates.

www.dawn.com

The government declare economic success on securing loans from IMF and selling national assets, while 3.5 millions Pakistanis have left since 2021
2020: 225,213
2021: 288,280
2022: 765,000–832,339.
2023: 862,625.
2024: 727,381 (Approximately a 15% decline from 2023).
2025 (Projected/Early Data): 172,000–350,000 individuals left in the first half of the year.

Thank you for linking this article. Don't take my word for it, take the good Generals, who is now a financial expert too.

Mr Sarfraz acknowledged that a crucial lesson learned was that the FDI will only follow once local investors are engaged. He reflected on the past three years of efforts to attract FDI, but noted a strategic shift. “Let’s bring our own sectoral tycoons to the table,” he said, emphasising the need first to pitch investment opportunities to Pakistani business leaders and build partnerships from within.

“We are now going to pitch these projects to our own businessmen first, so they can take leadership,” he stated, urging local entrepreneurs to take ownership and showcase their ventures. Offering full support, he added, “You need help, I am the person you need to work with. I will walk with you through the entire process. I will help you — and when I say ‘I,’ I mean my organisation.”

These fixed matches and backdoor negotiations are nothing new. There's only a few groups in Pakistan, and all have good relations with the establishment (of course they need to, otherwise they wouldn't be able to function).

Putting lipstick on a pig doesn't change the fact it's a pig.

The above quoted is the stated reason, what we instead get is greater fauji capture of state enterprises or resources. Farming, water, airline now, fertilizer, logistics, roadways, heck everything. And folks here are too blind to see this.

 

[VCheng]

For any political claim/manifesto, people can vote him out in the next election. What is the issue?

Or their duly elected representatives can present a Vote of No Confidence even before an election is due, if need be, of course. No issue there, either.

 

[VCheng]

The above quoted is the stated reason, what we instead get is greater fauji capture of state enterprises or resources. Farming, water, airline now, fertilizer, logistics, roadways, heck everything. And folks here are too blind to see this.

Everybody knows, as goes the famous song:

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[Jango]

Everybody knows, as goes the famous song:

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Yes...but then the justifications are just mind boggling, borderline insulting to intelligence.

Don't pretend everyone in the country is as ignorant as this kid (no offence to the kid, he's an innocent soul)

 

[VCheng]

Don't pretend everyone in the country is as ignorant as this kid (no offence to the kid, he's an innocent soul)

That kid is also on the same page!

 

[Jango]

That kid is also on the same page!

He's just being fooled. Like all of us clowns.

 

[VCheng]

He's just being fooled. Like all of us clowns.

Sad but true. Everybody knows. What nobody is willing to do is to work hard towards resolving the situation.

Truth be told, I once had high hopes that IK's tenure would bring about a lasting improvement in education and health, which would have borne sweet fruit over the long term.

But alas, it was not to be. He went after goals that were more important to him and got shot down in the process.

 

[Asif]

Incredible amount of issues to resolve.

When Pakistan's equivalent nations are delivering $300 billion a year exports it puts their situation into perspective.

I do see positive change and it will take a few years to see the results. As long as there is political stability and continuity of policy.

I am glad someone is hopeful. I dont see a silver lining till we make concerted efforts and go sector by sector or industry by industry.
The first thing to do that is to appoint a few experienced technical ppl incharge of the ministry for industry and commerce. This wont happen due to political or mafia pressure or due to the establishment having its own direction.
A politician needs to recover the millions spend on elections and that too on a margin and no better ministry than industries, commerce and agriculture. so, not gonna happen.

 

[Jango]

Sad but true. Everybody knows. What nobody is willing to do is to work hard towards resolving the situation.

Truth be told, I once had high hopes that IK's tenure would bring about a lasting improvement in education and health, which would have borne sweet fruit over the long term.

But alas, it was not to be. He went after goals that were more important to him and got shot down in the process.

Yeah maybe if you had let him complete 5 years something could have been done. If not anything else, at least the impending pension apocalypse could have been managed.

But hey, we got our great FM to bring about radical change. The lifetime immunity is just a step towards that!

 

[VCheng]

Yeah maybe if you had let him complete 5 years something could have been done. If not anything else, at least the impending pension apocalypse could have been managed.

But hey, we got our great FM to bring about radical change. The lifetime immunity is just a step towards that!

Well, maybe he could've handled the VoNC better, too. But all these "what ifs" are of no use now. FM AM will just be more of the same. That is just the sad truth.

I keep highlighting, to no avail the REAL issues facing Pakistan: overpopulation, lack of health, education and social development, and fatal intermixing of religion and state.

All the talk of "stabilization" and "growth" are all BS, comparatively speaking, no matter who is saying it.

 

[Owaiz]

I've been trying to wrap my head around this for a few days as well.

Not an accountant or savvy in these matters, so happy to be enlightened.

But if a quasi-state owned entity is buying the organization from the state and running it, how is this privatization in the true sense? You just brought in your own private group through a semi-managed deal, and like a true mafia boss want your own cut as well.

Not to say privatization of PIA is the wrong move, but certainly alot of questions still pending.

How I see it, the government basically wanted to cut the recurring losses, and let someone else run the airline and get a profit.

Couldn't have put it better myself. Does anyone seriously believe that Fauji Enterprises will not get its sinecures, perks and preferential side-deals ? If further bailouts are required, will the Govt of Pakistan leave Fauji Enterprises out to dry ? There is a reason that the supposedly "private" winning bidder is cutting a deal with the faujis.