According to the Harvard University’s Centre for International Development (CID), India is growing more strongly with high growth rate than China. Political stability is the main cause of this high growth. The democratic rule gives India the more competitive advantage on China because investors are satisfied that there will be a less chance of political thunder to crash their investments. Political stability is the important source of diversification for foreign investors and the large industries. India achieved this status by her unquestionable commitment to live under the democratic umbrella. There was a time when the poverty rate was so high almost 60%, but India did not compromise on its democratic values. And now Indians are enjoying the fruits of their forefather’s wisdom. India is flourishing and will keep growing with the help of her democratic values. Pakistan can also attain this competitive advantage which India has in the global market. For the year 2017, CID’s model of economic potential to growth – the atlas of economic complexity, indicates that Pakistan’s economic growth for the next 10 years can be 6% per annum if Pakistan keeps its economy safe from political shocks. I am a huge fan of the Atlas of economic complexity model due to its wide area scope in terms of economic complexity, diversification and the competitive potential for economic growth. This model is primarily based on the Adam Smith’s theory of comparative advantage which according to him is the main source of the wealth of nation. But this economic potential which is properly ranked by the AEC model is in crises and cannot be realised in the prevailing situation of political instability ignited by JIT. Who will actually be in disadvantage due to this expected economic decline? Definitely the common people whose welfare will be in a depression. In the history of the Indian subcontinent, either it was the ancient time or the medieval India, political stability and economic development were correlated. When India had an efficient government, it flourished. For example, the Era of Mauryan and Gupta dynasties, When Mauryan State was effective in term of law and order and the political stability, India flourished very well. Similarly, when Gupta rose, India rose, and when Gupta declined, India went to the deep crises and poverty. Muslims from central Asia conquered the India, they established a stable and better state which brought the economic growth and prosperity back. When Mughals declined, whole India slowed down economically except the small cities which maintained their status as the trading hub by providing the peace and security. What can easily be perceived by studying the Indian history is that four important things Indian market needed from the government in order to be efficient in her performance. These four things are political stability, law and order to secure people’s lawful interests, regionally connected market by a single rule and safe infrastructure. Pakistan has not yet developed democratic values, which is one of the reasons why we have a high poverty rate and social disparities The irony is that modern societies and markets have become more politicised than ancient and medieval time’s regimes were. Therefore, any political instability directly affects our economy and social structure. Pakistan has not yet developed democratic values, which is one of the reasons why we have a high poverty rate and social disparities. This political crisis might continue till the next election. And there is no guarantee that the next election will easily establish a stable and independent democratic rule which would be able to complete its 5-year tenure. This vulnerability is the main cause of distrust among investors, even though the expected rate of economic return in Pakistani market is high. Likewise, if anybody thinks that this type of political instability is the solution to corruption, he/she is mistaken. When the political system is weak, corruption will be high. Military or non-democratic government cannot control the corruption, it can only be controlled by democratic rule if it is empowered to do so independently without the threat of political storm which arises when any democratic government wants to make tough decisions. There is no country in the world which is truly democratic and politically stable but without economic development. In the modern world of great divergence, only the countries which continuously fail to solve their political disputes are poor. A market cannot work for the society when power and conflict rule instead of the will of the citizens. Do we need to decide what actually we need? If prosperity is needed, then we need to settle our political disputes on an urgent basis so that economic interests of the people can be secured without any danger resulting from the political unrest. The writer is a Research Fellow with Policy Research Institute of Market Economy (PRIME Institute), Islamabad, can be reached at Zeeshan.hashim11@gmail.com Published in Daily Times, July 21st, 2017.