State of Pakistan’s economy in 2017

Pakistan’s economic outlook looked bleak in 2017 owing to political uncertainty in the country. A rising trade deficit, inflation and an increase in the exchange rate of the dollar were some of the factors which hampered economic development.

President Lahore Chamber Tahir Javed stresses the government did not pay attention to economic policies. "Will Aladdin’s genie come and resolve the situation, we have to take steps today."

Traders are willing to pay tax, however, the mechanism setup by the government is not correct. "Traders want to pay tax and cooperate with the government. But the way government departments wanted to collect tax was not correct," says economic expert Khawaja Khawar.

Exports remained low due to expensive electricity and increasing taxes. "We need to concentrate on exports and promote our industry," says Khawaja Khawar.

According to economic experts, if the present political situation remains the same, Pakistan will experience a similar economic outlook in 2018. There is a need for the government to call a roundtable conference, political fighting set aside to achieve an economic turnaround.