Daily Times

As wimpy as it is, the removal of Pakistan from the European Union’s list of “High-Risk Third Countries” should have been celebrated as a much-needed silver lining. Facing the worst economic crisis in its history, Pakistan is in desperate need of export-led growth and therefore, any measure allowing the business community to establish a footprint goes to the phenomenal success of Finance Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar. The development would bode significantly well for those who wish to further build on the second-most-important trading relationship. However, these measures can only be pursued as steps in the right direction because they do not carry any immediate impacts. While European countries are a hot favourite for our exasperated textile industry, not much can change for them in the short run because they are still suffering from complications on the domestic front. From import restrictions to political volatility to the resurgence in terrorism, misfortunes abound with opposition speculations about the impending loss of the GSP-Plus status. Just as dismal have been delays in the IMF bailout program and the resulting horrifying numbers being forecast by literally every economist worth his salt.

Take a moment or two to realise what the seeming breather would actually amount to on the ground, and the general air of resignation becomes easy to understand. It is perhaps this coming to terms with the futility of any endeavour that the steep plunge of the Pakistani rupee has stepped out of the limelight. War-battered Ethiopia faring better in the currency market did not manage to rouse the authorities out of their profound stupor. The ruling elite loves to bask in the smugness over the failure of their rivals, but a deafening silence prevails when asked about their own successes. Where are the declawed dollars, reined-in inflation and a submissive international lender ready to fill our coffers on our conditions, we were promised a year ago? Have they too decided to make a dash for greener pastures? *