Finance: Economic challenges remain

Good things have started happening in Pakistan’s economy, but challenges remain and may even compound in the near future. The Pakistani economy contracted by 0.21 per cent in the last fiscal year. However, it began recovering in the first quarter of this year. The pace of recovery remained at 2.7pc in the first quarter, followed by 1.8pc and 2.1pc in the second and third quarters. The government has estimated GDP growth for this fiscal year at 2.4pc — let’s hope it turns out to be true. But that will not obscure the fact that a 2.4pc recovery is too slow to make any appreciable impact on employment and poverty levels. According to the World Bank, 40pc of Pakistanis, around 96 million people, are living below the poverty line. Meanwhile, unemployment estimates vary depending upon the sources, but many analysts and economists agree on 8pc — meaning at least 6.6m Pakistanis are currently jobless.