Utopian Pakistan: A Look at What Pakistan of Our Dreams Would Be Like

Pakistan is going through the toughest economic turmoil since its inception. At the time of partition, the resource distribution was discrepant and skewed against Pakistan (17:5 ratio of distribution). With an agrarian outlook, we had a very small share of developed services and manufacturing sectors. However, from 1958 to 1968 Pakistan had a brief stint of growth going up to 20% per annum. Industry flourished and agriculture got modernized during this period. This prosperity was short-lived as the political instability took away the best times of our growth.

Pakistan’s FY22 GDP is $376 Billion, GDP per capita ranks 177/202 and Human Development Index ranks 161/192. Industrial value added is only 11.91% of GDP in FY21. 50+ years, massive debt, and numerous IMF packages later, Pakistan is standing on the verge of an economic meltdown.

You must wonder what Pakistan would have looked like if we kept our course. What would we have achieved if we were doing things right?

Let’s Imagine a Utopian Pakistan

Pakistan as an Agricultural Giant  

Pakistan has got its agricultural self-sufficiency 30 years ago. Pakistan’s agricultural imports are only $1.3 billion per annum while exports are more than $46 billion. Pakistan’s modernized irrigation system & tech orientation has made it as one of the top wheat exporters ($5.6 billion in the current year), second to Russia/Ukraine. Pakistan is the largest rice exporter with a whopping $8.3 billion worth of exports per annum at par with India. Pakistan is also one of the top meat producers in the world, taking 17% of the share of global exports. Pakistan is an Agri-Tech powerhouse, modernizing not just itself but the whole world through research in Arid Agriculture, Vertical Farming, and low-resource agri-engineering.

Pakistan as a growing Industrial Economy

Pakistan has been growing steadily in its industrial production. For the last 50 years, the economy is consistently transforming into an agro-industrial hub. In the last 10 years, Pakistan had an average of 1.3% growth in Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP) which now stands at 23.1%, a little short of India’s 25%. With the introduction of the Industrial Development Authority in 2008, policymaking has become streamlined and efficient. The relaxation in power tariffs and constant gas supply to the industry has fueled exponential growth. Construction, Textile, Agri-processing, and light engineering are the most successful manufacturing sectors of our country. Pakistan’s vocational training revolution has produced results in terms of skilled labor provided to the industrial sector.

Pakistan as a large supplier of Services and Human Resource

Pakistan’s education system has generated a wide spectrum of service-oriented workforce ready to be employed anywhere in the world. IT human resources as well as remote services individuals are readily available for the world to employ. Pakistan’s IT exports have totaled $6.8 Billion with a steady growth of 6% year on year since 2020. With regards to Human Capital Exports, Pakistan ranks number 1 for consecutive three years with remittances of more than $3.1 billion per month.

Pakistan as one of the most progressive societies in the world

The social fabric of Pakistan has been weaved around racial, cultural, and religious harmony. For the last 20 years, Pakistan has consistently decreasing street crime rate. Pakistan ranks highest in Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in South Asia. Pakistan has the lowest number of Out-of-School Children in Asia and Africa. Pakistan has one of the lowest Child Mortality Rates in Asia and life expectancy ranges between 70-74 years. Pakistan’s housing shortfall is at its lowest in history and urban centers have the highest concentration of Education & Health Services.

Pakistan’s GDP is $1008 Billion and growing at a rate of 5.3% year on year. Human Development Index currently stands at 77/192, three points higher than last year.

This could have been our Pakistan. This could have been our present. Now that we have imagined it together, we are going to miss it. This is the country we deserve. The dream is still alive and we still have hope.