ISLAMABAD: The PML-N government has successfully implemented energy and economic reforms but failed to privatise public sector corporations that have become the reason for large economic losses, a think tank report has claimed.

The report was launched by the Policy Research Institute of Market Economy (Prime), which has been tracking the PML-N’s performance compared to its election manifesto.

Speaking to participants at the report launch, former PPP senator Farhatullah Babar said the national economy would be in a bind as long as regional trade was employed as a tool of security policy instead of promoting welfare through trade and people-to-people contact.

Report says economy will be in a bind as long as regional trade employed as security policy tool

He said trade with Afghanistan had declined from Rs3 billion to Rs1.5bn a year.

Today, 80pc of large containers enter Afghanistan from Chahbahar, Iran, bypassing Pakistan, and Kabul has banned Pakistani trucks from entering Afghanistan.

Trade with India has similarly been predicated on the resolution of political issues, he said, and called for taking advice from the Chinese and their trade model.

China’s trade with India has multiplied over the years, crossing over a billion dollars, despite serious political issues between them.

Mr Babar said that besides businesses being unable to compete in price or quality, the mindset that fears the outbreak of peace in the region also opposed regional trade to perpetuate their predominance in the state.

“Parliament’s recommendations to turn around PIA had been ignored on the grounds that the national airline was a private entity and instead of restructuring it was allowed to accumulate huge debt. Power generation has been stressed but no attention given to transmission and distribution of power, as a result of which load shedding has not ended,” he said.

Zohair Abbasi, who wrote the report, said the government had successfully reduced electricity power cuts, but failed to bring about tax reform and privatise state-owned enterprises.

PML-N stalwart Sartaj Aziz, in a statement sent to the conference, said the PML-N had doubled the growth rate and improved the energy mix.

He said it had also worked to improve internet penetration, successfully seeing off the transition to 3G and 4G technologies.

Prime Executive Director Ali Salman said there were three major narratives in domestic politics: the narrative of development, the narrative of justice and the narrative of rights.

He also urged Pakistanis to repose their confidence in political actors rather than non-political actors.

Prime’s ‘Between Promises and Performance’ report stated that the economy has gradually found a growth trajectory that appears sustainable.

It said that inflation appears under control, but much of this may be a factor of external variables such as notably lower global oil prices during most of these years.

The report warned of high fiscal slippage, falling reserves and piling debt.

The policy scorecard said the PML-N government had achieved around 67.3pc of their energy security targets.

It assessed that the government was able to implement 29.3pc of its tax reform agenda, with little progress in expanding the tax net, broadening the base, taxing all income, reforming the Federal Board of Revenue, ensuring compliance and rationalising tax rates and brackets.

It also noted that the achievement of trade policy goals were not satisfactory, with 47pc of targets being realised.

It concluded that Pakistan’s regional trade barriers continue to exist, and the lack of diversification and high tariffs have kept Pakistan on the lower end of most trade-related rankings.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2018