Can the economy return to track without reforms?

Pakistan has followed this path many times in the past. The country received billions of dollars through geopolitical rents by supporting

The straightforward, clear and scientific answer is: No, absolutely not.

Pakistan has followed this path many times in the past. The country received billions of dollars through geopolitical rents by supporting global powers during the Cold War and the Afghan war. It also secured massive investments from China under CPEC. But what was the outcome? As soon as external funding and the inflow of dollars stopped, the economy once again found itself standing at the doorstep of the IMF.

Trying to run the economy without addressing its fundamental problems is like pouring expensive fuel into a vehicle whose engine has already seized. Once the fuel runs out, the vehicle will once again come to a halt in the middle of the road.

If Pakistan fails to undertake internal reforms, the greatest benefit of successful diplomacy will be limited to obtaining the next loan on slightly softer terms or convincing friendly countries to roll over their deposits for a longer period. This is not economic recovery; it is merely postponing the date of bankruptcy by a few months.

4. The Roadmap That Can Transform Diplomacy into Economic Prosperity

If Pakistan truly wants to convert its diplomatic achievements into economic growth and prosperity, it must implement the following four-point comprehensive roadmap:

1. Shift from Geopolitics to Geoeconomics

Pakistan must present its strategic location not only as a defence asset but as an economic corridor. By connecting the Central Asian Republics to the sea through Gwadar Port, the country can generate billions of dollars through transit fees and trade.

2. Sourcing and Localization

International companies entering Pakistan through diplomatic initiatives should not merely be allowed to sell their products in the local market. They should also be required to establish manufacturing facilities within the country. Unless Pakistan develops local supply chains from raw materials to finished products, the import bill will continue to rise.

3. Corporate Investment in Minerals and Agriculture

Pakistan possesses significant reserves of copper, gold, lithium and cobalt, particularly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Through effective diplomacy, Gulf investment and modern technology can be attracted to these sectors, substantially increasing exports and strengthening the national economy.

4. Privatization of State-Owned Enterprises

Loss-making state enterprises such as PIA, Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan Railways continue to impose a heavy burden on the national treasury. Their privatization is essential to stop financial losses and redirect public funds towards welfare and development projects.

Conclusion

Receiving praise in the conference halls of Switzerland and discussing changes to the global order may be easy, but for the trader in Lahore’s Shah Alam Market, the textile worker in Faisalabad and the businessman at Karachi’s port, economic conditions will improve only when the country’s internal structure is reformed.

Successful diplomacy can serve as an excellent starter, but it is not the main course. Pakistan cannot become an economic power until it resolves its internal contradictions and structural weaknesses.

The country must move away from dependence on aid and borrowing and instead build a documented tax system, achieve self-sufficiency in the energy sector and make its productive industries globally competitive.

If Islamabad continues to rely on diplomatic successes while ignoring domestic economic reforms, history may remember Pakistan as a country that had some of the world’s finest diplomats but some of the poorest economic managers.

The time has come to connect the glamour of diplomacy with the hard realities on the ground, because true strength does not lie in the halls of Washington, New York or Beijing, but within the economic foundations of the country itself.