Comment by Riaz Haq on January 31, 2023 at 10:23am

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE/KARACHI:
Despite the fact that the country is facing various economic challenges, including a looming default and spiraling inflation, surveys conducted by The Express Tribune in three major cities disclosed that even though the people were aware of the financial hardships, they just wanted to carry on living their lives normally.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2397409/pakistanis-weighed-down-by-inf...

“The prices have increased to a certain extent but that doesn’t mean that the people will stop eating,” Ali, who runs a burger stall in Islamabad, said.

“We are working as usual. The prices of fuel and electricity have witnessed an unusual hike and the government should do something about it,” he added.

Ali maintained that the rising prices had not significantly affected his business.

“My shop is packed with customers like before,” he claimed.

Shahnawaz Satti, a tandoor owner, said the increase in the prices of fuel and flour had no effect on his business as he jacked up the rates of his naans and rotis in accordance with that.

Adeel, a citizen, told The Express Tribune that the political instability in the country could lead the country towards defaulting on its external repayments.

He noted that all political stakeholders would have to sit together and chalk out a strategy to avert this situation.

“If the government concedes to all conditions imposed by the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the price of petroleum products would exceed Rs400 per litre. This might not affect the rich but will choke the life out of the common people,” he observed.

The survey found that the people were not bothered by the threat of default, but they wanted their lives to continue as per their normal routine.

In Lahore, a city renowned for its festivities and liveliness, normalcy is slowly changing its pace as the economic crisis has made its presence known in every aspect of life.

While various segments of the city's residents still braving the deteriorating economic conditions during the tenure of the PTI government, its successor, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), failed to bring about the relief it promised when it assumed charge in April last year.

Ever since, matters have been gradually heading towards decay, and with no respite expected soon, there is a sense of disappointment lingering in the air.

Read ‘IMF, privatisation not a solution’

Lahore, which bristled with life, is now slowly becoming accustomed to lonely streets and closed markets at 10pm -- an hour relatively earlier by the city’s standards.

Recently, the authorities extended the time restrictions imposed on commercial markets, with the exception of pharmacies and other essential services, to save energy.

Pakistan, which already suffers from a serious energy crisis, is trying to make lifestyle adjustments to cut the fuel import bill as the country has run out of its dollar reserves to back its valuable imports.

On the surface of it, the decision to close markets early may appear to be an unwise one, but it is an extension of the “difficult measures” that the government says it has been taking to steer the country out of the economic crisis.

However, despite the incumbent government's tall claims, the situation is still unstable – the effects of which can be felt in everyday life in the city.

The Express Tribune spoke to people from various segments of the society to develop a clearer picture of how things really were.

The lowest segments of society have been hit the hardest by the economic crisis as they struggle to make ends meet, with the prices of essential items increasing faster than their income.

They complain about hefty utility bills despite low usage, unaffordable prices of essential commodities, lack of social protection and their struggle to maintain their income.

Those from various strata of the middle class echoed similar concerns as the economic crisis has made it significantly difficult for them to maintain their

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 8, 2023 at 6:58pm

Pakistan is at risk of default
A balance of payments crisis is tipping a fragile economy over the edge

https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/02/07/pakistan-is-at-risk-of-de...

Pakistanis are accustomed to unreliable utilities. Even in affluent neighbourhoods of Karachi and Lahore, residents install diesel generators for power cuts and spare water tanks for when the taps run dry. Yet the events of January 23rd were still shocking. A surge in voltage at a power station in southern Sindh province led to almost the entire country of 230m people losing power for most of the day. Factories, hospitals and mobile-phone networks shut down in many areas. In Lahore, the evening’s trading and promenading—when Pakistan’s second-largest city feels most exhilaratingly alive—was conducted in darkness and a pale glow of mobile phones. Only at midnight did some streetlights come on.

The blackout is indicative of an economic crisis severe even by the standards of a country well-known for them. Pakistan is still suffering the devastating effects of monsoon flooding last summer that displaced 8m people and cost the country an estimated $30bn in damage and lost output. Tens of thousands remain homeless. A follow-up wave of inflation, fuelled by global factors and economic mismanagement, is making their situation harder. Annual inflation reached 27.6% in January, the highest level since 1975. The rupee is crashing; it traded at an all-time low of 275 to the dollar this week, down from 230 in mid-January and 175 a year ago. With foreign exchange reserves dwindling, the country faces its worst balance of payments crisis in peacetime.

Many heavily-indebted emerging markets have faced similar problems over the past year, related to post-pandemic supply glitches and the war in Ukraine. Pakistan, which imports much of its food and fuel, looks a lot like Sri Lanka last spring, before it defaulted on its debt and its president was chased from the country by angry protesters. Yet Pakistan is uniquely troubling. It is the world’s fifth biggest country by population, perennially unstable, beset by extremists and nuclear-armed.

The return to power of the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021 has launched a third destructive wave—of terrorism and insurgency, mainly in the northwest of the country. A suicide-bomber killed 84 people, mostly members of the security forces, last week in a mosque in the north-western city of Peshawar. Political dysfunction, as ubiquitous as corruption in Pakistan, is inevitably stymying the government’s response to all these disasters.

Imran Khan, a charismatic narcissist who was ousted as prime minister last April, has spent the past year agitating to bring down the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that replaced him. Even if he fails (and the army, which tends to stage-manage Pakistan’s political dramas, is not with him) Mr Khan remains popular and well-placed for an election due by October. Mr Sharif’s administration is meanwhile squabbling, including over negotiations for an imf bailout. With foreign currency reserves down to just over $3bn in early February, enough to cover three weeks of imports, Pakistan needs access to $1.1bn in a bailout programme agreed with the imf in 2019 and suspended due to a lack of promised reform. If the fund’s negotiators, who returned to Islamabad on January 31st, depart on February 9th without a deal, Pakistan could default on its sovereign debt.

The forex shortage, in part caused by efforts to prop up the rupee, is causing additional damage. Import restrictions imposed to save dollars for essential items like food and fuel have hit industries reliant on imported inputs. Output in large-scale manufacturing, including cars, chemicals and textiles, fell by 5.5% in November 2022 compared with the year before. The World Bank predicts gdp will grow by 2% this year, half what it forecast last June. “There used to be this conviction that we’ll always come out of it somehow,” says a businessman in Karachi. “Now there’s deep pessimism, almost hysteria.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 13, 2023 at 4:49pm

U.S. delegation to visit Pakistan as two sides seek to repair ties
By Kanishka Singh


https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-delegation-visit-paki...

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet will lead a delegation to Pakistan this week as Washington and Islamabad seek to repair ties strained under former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The U.S. delegation will visit Bangladesh and Pakistan from Feb. 14-18 to meet with senior government officials, civil society members and business leaders, the State Department said in a statement on Monday.

Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament last April, had antagonized the United States throughout his tenure. He welcomed the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 and accused Washington of being behind the attempt to oust him in 2022.

Washington and Pakistan's National Security Council, a body of top civil and military leaders, dismissed his accusations. Khan was succeeded as prime minister by Shehbaz Sharif.

The U.S. delegation's visit comes as the $350-billion economy of Pakistan is still reeling from devastating floods last year that left at least 1,700 people dead, and the government estimates rebuilding efforts will cost $16 billion.

The nuclear-armed nation is in the grip of a full-blown economic crisis. Talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund were scheduled to resume online this week after 10 days of face-to-face discussions in Islamabad on how to keep the country afloat ended without a deal on Friday.

The Dawn newspaper reported late in January that Pakistan had sought U.S. support to unlock the stalled IMF program that would release $1.1 billion to its strained economy as the country rebuilds.

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 18, 2023 at 7:36am

What are the top 5 things Pakistan must do for long term improvement in its economy?


1. Incentivize domestic savings

2. Prioritize investing in export oriented sectors

3. Broaden tax base with agriculture, service sector income

4. Incentivize documentation of economy

5. Ensure political stability/security for investors

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 19, 2023 at 7:35pm

Why Pakistan Won’t Be A Failed State – OpEd
February 19, 2023 Eurasia Review 1 Comment
By Asad Ali

https://www.eurasiareview.com/19022023-why-pakistan-wont-be-a-faile...

Pakistan’s economic performance over the past seven decades has been a mixed bag. The country, which started off virtually from scratch and was almost written off by many analysts at the time of its inception, has bounded ahead in the face of enormous challenges.

Today, Pakistan offers the most liberal trade and investment regime in the region. It is fully integrated into the multilateral economic and trading systems. In order to appreciate the impediments faced by Pakistan on the road to economic development and prosperity, it is imperative to take stock of the country’s economic predicament at the time of its birth.

Since independence in 1947, the economy of Pakistan has emerged as a semi-industrialized one, the on textiles, agriculture, and food production, though recent years have seen a push towards technological diversification. Successive governments in Islamabad have been working tirelessly to uplift the country be it economically or socially. The major focus of the previous governments had been socio-economic area. The economic situation of Pakistan is satisfactory because rapid growth rate has resulted in a quadrupling of per capita incomes and reduction in poverty levels by one half despite fairly high population growth. Structural changes have transformed a predominantly agrarian economy to a more diversified production structure. Manufactures account for 80 percent of the country’s exports.

The governance issue prevails in many parts of the planet. Several countries are faced with this conundrum. It is not denying the fact that governance plays a key role in the growth of any state. The absence of governance causes various issues that lead this state towards abysmal shambles. In this contemporary world, developing countries present the worst-case scenario in this regard in order to achieve long-term economic stability. They are the mercy of developed states and leading global financial institutions.

In the first decade after independence, Pakistan’s economy grew on average 3.1%. Despite the overall modest growth, manufacturing grew at a healthy rate of 7.4%. During the 1960s, the growth rate more than doubled to reach 6.8%, which was underpinned by 5.1% growth in agriculture, 9.9% growth in manufacturing and 6.7% growth in services. However, the healthy growth rate could not be sustained and the next decade saw it come down to 4.8%. The nationalization policy is stated to be one of the factors which put the brakes on the economic march. While the services sector nearly maintained its robust expansion, agriculture and manufacturing growth fell to 2.4% and 5.5% respectively.

The economy regained momentum during the decade of the 1980s with overall growth of 6.5%. But as in the past, the growth rate fell to 4.6% during the 1990s as the country remained in throes of political instability as well as struggled to undergo structural economic transition. The next two decades also witnessed modest growth rates of 4.7% and 4.4% respectively. During this period, Pakistan has waged an epic struggle to ward off an existential threat posed by terrorism. The war against terror has tolled upon the national economy (we will come back to the economic costs of terrorism later).

As per the data available with Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, like most other developing economies, fiscal deficit has been a norm in Pakistan. In the 1960s, the average fiscal deficit made up 2.1% of the GDP, which more than doubled to reach 5.3% in the 1970s and further to 7.1% during the 1980s. During the 1990s, fiscal deficit came down marginally to 6.9% before falling significantly to 4.6% during the 2000s. During the current decade on average 6.2% fiscal deficit has been recorded.3 In 2017, Pakistan’s fiscal deficit was 4.5% of the GDP compared with India’s 6.5%, Bangladesh’s 4.9% and Sri Lanka’s 4.8%.4.

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 19, 2023 at 7:35pm

Why Pakistan Won’t Be A Failed State – OpEd
February 19, 2023 Eurasia Review 1 Comment
By Asad Ali

https://www.eurasiareview.com/19022023-why-pakistan-wont-be-a-faile...


In the US-led war against terror, no other nation has sacrificed as tremendously in terms of both men and materials as Pakistanis have done. The nation’s incessant and intrepid campaign against the militancy has tested the resilience of the economy. Between 2001-02 and 2017-18, the direct and indirect economic cost of the war on terror has teetered on the edge of $127 billion, which accounts for nearly 40% of Pakistan’s present GDP of $319 billion.

The road and highway network in Pakistan spans 260,000 kms – more than five times the length inherited in 1947. Modern motorways and superhighways and four-lane national highways link the entire country along with secondary and tertiary roads.

Despite these harsh challenges both at domestic and international fronts, Pakistani governments fought well to uplift the country. They worked on infrastructures, roads and industries in order to gain maximum economic benefits and enhance their exports. Even during the Covid-pandemic, Pakistan’s currency and economy were flourishing at high pace. Pak Rupee was the best currency during Covid era.

At strategic fronts, Pakistan is having very troubled neighborhood. In its Eastern side, India is located, which never missed a single chance to destabilize Pakistan economically, politically and strategically. With already having limited economic resources, Pakistan spends major chunk of GDP in defense sector due to the hegemonic and warmongering designs of Indian government. Likewise, on the Western front, Afghanistan is located, which has witnessed many civil wars. The Afghan soil has become cauldron of non-state actors. The security situation in Afghanistan is having spill-over affect over Pakistan’s security and economic situation. To curb the menace of terrorism and extremism on Western front, Pakistan is spending huge sum of money, which is hurting overall economic environment. The influx of Afghan refugees has further complicated the matter for Pakistan.

Iran is another neighbor of Pakistan. The country is under direct and most stringent sanctions of US and Western countries. Pakistan cannot continue its trade with Iran freely due to the economic embargos. Despite limited economic options, troubled neighborhood and changing regional geo-strategic environment, Pakistan is performing well by extending all possible facilities to its people. The is absolutely no truth in the reports of Pakistan is going to be default. The country cannot default.

The war on terror has been most tiring for Pakistan because not has it consumed the state’s strategic and conventional resources but the menace of terrorism has infiltrated into the fabric of society as the biggest challenge ever to grapple with. However, despite all the bloodshed and loss, Pakistan still manages to survive and stands tall in the face of all these challenges.

Most recently, the economic turmoil is putting heavy pressure on Pakistan’s new government, which is currently in long-running negotiations with IMF on a bailout deal to stave off a disastrous default on foreign debt. Likewise, with government and armed forces’ tireless efforts, Pakistan can mop up all its socio-economic and religious political evils from its soil.

In a nutshell, governance is a phenomenon that smoothly steers government and state. However, the game is not over yet. Pakistan can come back on the right path by taking some extraordinary steps in this sphere

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 19, 2023 at 7:39pm

Why Pakistan Won’t Be A Failed State – OpEd
February 19, 2023 Eurasia Review 1 Comment
By Asad Ali

https://www.eurasiareview.com/19022023-why-pakistan-wont-be-a-faile...

Pakistan’s economic performance over the past seven decades has been a mixed bag. The country, which started off virtually from scratch and was almost written off by many analysts at the time of its inception, has bounded ahead in the face of enormous challenges.

Today, Pakistan offers the most liberal trade and investment regime in the region. It is fully integrated into the multilateral economic and trading systems. In order to appreciate the impediments faced by Pakistan on the road to economic development and prosperity, it is imperative to take stock of the country’s economic predicament at the time of its birth.

Since independence in 1947, the economy of Pakistan has emerged as a semi-industrialized one, the on textiles, agriculture, and food production, though recent years have seen a push towards technological diversification. Successive governments in Islamabad have been working tirelessly to uplift the country be it economically or socially. The major focus of the previous governments had been socio-economic area. The economic situation of Pakistan is satisfactory because rapid growth rate has resulted in a quadrupling of per capita incomes and reduction in poverty levels by one half despite fairly high population growth. Structural changes have transformed a predominantly agrarian economy to a more diversified production structure. Manufactures account for 80 percent of the country’s exports.

The governance issue prevails in many parts of the planet. Several countries are faced with this conundrum. It is not denying the fact that governance plays a key role in the growth of any state. The absence of governance causes various issues that lead this state towards abysmal shambles. In this contemporary world, developing countries present the worst-case scenario in this regard in order to achieve long-term economic stability. They are the mercy of developed states and leading global financial institutions.

In the first decade after independence, Pakistan’s economy grew on average 3.1%. Despite the overall modest growth, manufacturing grew at a healthy rate of 7.4%. During the 1960s, the growth rate more than doubled to reach 6.8%, which was underpinned by 5.1% growth in agriculture, 9.9% growth in manufacturing and 6.7% growth in services. However, the healthy growth rate could not be sustained and the next decade saw it come down to 4.8%. The nationalization policy is stated to be one of the factors which put the brakes on the economic march. While the services sector nearly maintained its robust expansion, agriculture and manufacturing growth fell to 2.4% and 5.5% respectively.

The economy regained momentum during the decade of the 1980s with overall growth of 6.5%. But as in the past, the growth rate fell to 4.6% during the 1990s as the country remained in throes of political instability as well as struggled to undergo structural economic transition. The next two decades also witnessed modest growth rates of 4.7% and 4.4% respectively. During this period, Pakistan has waged an epic struggle to ward off an existential threat posed by terrorism. The war against terror has tolled upon the national economy (we will come back to the economic costs of terrorism later).

As per the data available with Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, like most other developing economies, fiscal deficit has been a norm in Pakistan. In the 1960s, the average fiscal deficit made up 2.1% of the GDP, which more than doubled to reach 5.3% in the 1970s and further to 7.1% during the 1980s. During the 1990s, fiscal deficit came down marginally to 6.9% before falling significantly to 4.6% during the 2000s. During the current decade on average 6.2% fiscal deficit has been recorded.3 In 2017, Pakistan’s fiscal deficit was 4.5% of the GDP compared with India’s 6.5%, Bangladesh’s 4.9% and Sri Lanka’s 4.8%.4.

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 19, 2023 at 7:40pm

Why Pakistan Won’t Be A Failed State – OpEd
February 19, 2023 Eurasia Review 1 Comment
By Asad Ali

https://www.eurasiareview.com/19022023-why-pakistan-wont-be-a-faile...


In the US-led war against terror, no other nation has sacrificed as tremendously in terms of both men and materials as Pakistanis have done. The nation’s incessant and intrepid campaign against the militancy has tested the resilience of the economy. Between 2001-02 and 2017-18, the direct and indirect economic cost of the war on terror has teetered on the edge of $127 billion, which accounts for nearly 40% of Pakistan’s present GDP of $319 billion.

The road and highway network in Pakistan spans 260,000 kms – more than five times the length inherited in 1947. Modern motorways and superhighways and four-lane national highways link the entire country along with secondary and tertiary roads.

Despite these harsh challenges both at domestic and international fronts, Pakistani governments fought well to uplift the country. They worked on infrastructures, roads and industries in order to gain maximum economic benefits and enhance their exports. Even during the Covid-pandemic, Pakistan’s currency and economy were flourishing at high pace. Pak Rupee was the best currency during Covid era.

At strategic fronts, Pakistan is having very troubled neighborhood. In its Eastern side, India is located, which never missed a single chance to destabilize Pakistan economically, politically and strategically. With already having limited economic resources, Pakistan spends major chunk of GDP in defense sector due to the hegemonic and warmongering designs of Indian government. Likewise, on the Western front, Afghanistan is located, which has witnessed many civil wars. The Afghan soil has become cauldron of non-state actors. The security situation in Afghanistan is having spill-over affect over Pakistan’s security and economic situation. To curb the menace of terrorism and extremism on Western front, Pakistan is spending huge sum of money, which is hurting overall economic environment. The influx of Afghan refugees has further complicated the matter for Pakistan.

Iran is another neighbor of Pakistan. The country is under direct and most stringent sanctions of US and Western countries. Pakistan cannot continue its trade with Iran freely due to the economic embargos. Despite limited economic options, troubled neighborhood and changing regional geo-strategic environment, Pakistan is performing well by extending all possible facilities to its people. The is absolutely no truth in the reports of Pakistan is going to be default. The country cannot default.

The war on terror has been most tiring for Pakistan because not has it consumed the state’s strategic and conventional resources but the menace of terrorism has infiltrated into the fabric of society as the biggest challenge ever to grapple with. However, despite all the bloodshed and loss, Pakistan still manages to survive and stands tall in the face of all these challenges.

Most recently, the economic turmoil is putting heavy pressure on Pakistan’s new government, which is currently in long-running negotiations with IMF on a bailout deal to stave off a disastrous default on foreign debt. Likewise, with government and armed forces’ tireless efforts, Pakistan can mop up all its socio-economic and religious political evils from its soil.

In a nutshell, governance is a phenomenon that smoothly steers government and state. However, the game is not over yet. Pakistan can come back on the right path by taking some extraordinary steps in this sphere

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 24, 2023 at 7:37am

#US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer lands in #Pakistan, meets PM @CMShehbaz after visiting #India and #Israel. Wants to strengthen US-Pak ties.

https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/02-24-2023/schumers-pakis...

What happened: The focus of lawmakers' big codel week has been largely on the Munich Security Conference and Israel, but Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's trip to Pakistan carried its own challenges.

The details: Schumer, along with Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and freshman Peter Welch (D-Vt.), traveled to Pakistan on Thursday and met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

A video posted by the Government of Pakistan said the leaders discussed economic partnerships and investments, Afghanistan and India, among other issues, according to the video.

Schumer "affirmed the desire to further strengthen Pakistan-U.S. bilateral ties in various dimensions through continued engagement and wider co-operation," the video said. We've asked Schumer's office for their comment on the trip.

Significance: While there have been congressional delegations sent to Pakistan, it's quite rare for Hill leadership to travel to the country. The last instance we could find was House Speaker John Boehner stopping in the country during his Middle East Tour back in 2011. (Mitch McConnell, interestingly, had visited Pakistan in January of that same year.) Five U.S. presidents have visited Pakistan, but none since George W. Bush in 2006.

U.S.-Pakistan relations in recent decades have been a roller coaster, seeing the post-9/11 partnership with the nuclear-armed nation go through various stages of rapport and concern. Recently, discussions have centered around the Taliban in Afghanistan after the 2021 U.S. withdrawal, and Russia, from whom Pakistan imports oil.

Furthermore, Pakistan and China have developed a close strategic alliance, with the Chinese providing economic and military assistance. Just this week, Schumer called on India, Pakistan's historical rival in the region, to help the U.S. outcompete China.

Also on the itinerary: The Senate majority leader also landed in Israel on Thursday with his original Codel members, with a tag-along from Sens. Jack Reed (R.I.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.). A large swath of senators have been visiting the country all week.

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 24, 2023 at 1:12pm

The war in Ukraine: Impact on Pakistan’s energy security

by Waqar Rizvi


https://www.freiheit.org/south-asia/war-ukraine-impact-pakistans-en...

Pakistan has long dealt with energy-insecurity, a state of affairs exacerbated by the disastrous economic effects of the pandemic, floods and war in Ukraine. While some experts warned Pakistan that its energy dependence was untenable, there were others who believed such concerns were overblown thanks to the abundance and low cost of Liquefied Natural Gas. The war in Ukraine has proven the latter group wrong, the subsequent sanctions disrupting energy supplies from Russia and driving up global prices. Europe's entry into the market and ability to meet any cost in securing limited worldwide supplies place Pakistan in an even more difficult position.

Pakistani officials already warn of mass gas shortages, and load-shedding in households is rampant with areas of the country experiencing daily power cuts that are 16 hours long. The country’s vital textile industry also stands to suffer from an interrupted and limited supply. This situation exists despite Pakistan's possession of exploitable natural resources, owing to policy-makers' dogmatic view that the development of these resources for self-reliance was unachievable. In addition, insecurity and political instability in areas such as resource-rich Balochistan have thwarted any remedial measures.

Pakistan’s alliances and loyalties with traditional allies are being tested at this difficult time. To encourage vital foreign investment in Pakistan's energy sector, the government can take advantage of the desire of the Chinese, Russians, Americans and Europeans to gain influence in the country. Restricted by geopolitical considerations from taking sides in the war on Ukraine, Pakistan must secure its national interests, especially energy security.

Pakistan should eschew inactivity despite the risk of being outbid in the competitive global LNG market. Responsible energy policymaking must be embraced, including the implementation and incentivisation of energy conservation measures, whilst shielding the lower classes from additional energy costs. Needed is a multifaceted energy policy that considers all available resources such as gas, oil, coal, solar, hydro and wind power. Experts must be involved in the formulation of sound strategies to exploit these sources, and Pakistan must learn from its mistakes, such its signing of bad-faith contracts with LNG middlemen, which allowed them to abandon Pakistan's agreements for profits.

However, political turmoil remains the largest contributor to Pakistan's energy insecurity. The government and opposition parties will need to put aside their partisan bickering to prioritize the country’s interests. Sound policies grounded in reality, as opposed to theoretical ones, are called for, and leaders must step up during crises.

Pakistan is in dire need of an infrastructural upgrade and must play all its cards to achieve it. Diplomatically, Pakistan holds significant influence in international forums and has valuable voting power at the United Nations. Economically, Pakistan can promise significant benefits to nations that invest in its natural resources.

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