Pakistan is in severe economic crisis

Fazle Rashid from New YorkbrAsif Ali Zardari, basking under the glory of his slain spouse Benazir Bhutto, assumed the office of the president of Pakistan. He neither possesses the intellectual height to which Benazir reached, nor has her charisma and has an antecedent blemished with charges of graft and murder. He confronts the uncomfortable prospects of wrangling with a steep downturn in economy and mounting unrest along the Pak-Afghanm border.brHis position has further been weakened by unilateral American actions against Taleban targets in which civilian casualties including children is mounting..brThe New York Times (NYT) correspondent based in Indian capital New Delhi in a report last Tuesday said the country has been hit by an inflation surging to 25 per cent and its economy is in a state of bankruptcy. Zardari can comfort himself from the fact that steep downturn in economy is due to folly of his immediate predecessor Gen. Parvez Musharraf who stepped down under the pain of impeachment.brParvez Musharraf in order to appease the electorate had provided huge subsidies both in food and energy, thus emptying the public purse. Pakistan's budget deficit will run into a staggering, $21 billion, the highest since its inception in 1947. The unemployment rate is hovering around 6.6 per cent. In order to win votes, Parvez Musharraf kept subsidies high on food and energy, thus helping drive up the budget deficit.brThe government, in order to replenish its fast dwindling fund, is contemplating selling of some of the lucrative national assets. On the list of sale is Quaderpur gas field with a proven gas reserve of 2.9 trillion cubic feet. The gas field is valued at $3.0 billion. The selling of the gas field will spark off controversy. Pakistan imports more than three-quarters of its petroleum requirements. Investors are skeptical about the move and are questioning the rationality and wisdom and are wondering whetherr sales will be conducted transparently and fairly. Pakistan's economic curse is that the ruling clique made up of civil bureaucracy, military and corrupt politicians have nerver thought about the common people on the street.brHowever, this country has always been lucky to have best of ties with the Middle-East nations. They will come in a drove to invest. Saudi arabia and Abu Dhabi may come to Pakistan's rescue. Agriculture could be a big sector for joint collaboration. Pakistan has millions of acre of arable land and the Middle East nations are short of food but flushed with petrodollars. The officials from two sides are exploring links that could lead to joint collaboration. There will be joint collaboration on energy, coal mines and salt.brThe investors from the Middle East have already bought stakes in telecommunications, banking and industrial companies in Pakistan. Pakistan is planning to issue sharia compliants bonds and the World Bank (WB) has promised to' fast track' $1billion in planned investments in the country. Pakistan has also been lucky to receive millions of dollars in remittance. This will rise further. Pakistan government is lobbying to increase the flow of workers to the Middle-East