In a bold critique, a prominent report reveals Pakistan’s economic woes as largely self-made, with leaders quick to pin the blame on the IMF bailout terms. The South Asian nation, home to 250 million people, fails to propel its populace toward steady advancement due to pervasive obstacles hampering its top exports and growth engines. Genuine turnaround seems distant.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s specially convened panel, after engaging business leaders, concluded that demonizing the IMF distracts from internal failures. Tasked with planning a post-bailout future as the current program nears its 2024 end, the group lambasts the tactic as a smokescreen for governmental inaction on promised reforms.

The panel lists familiar villains: erratic high energy prices, fickle policies, a warped taxation system, trade facilitation snags, fractured institutions, and excessive red tape. Echoed in countless prior assessments from aid agencies and watchdogs, these barriers demand urgent action.

Rather than heeding IMF calls for a conducive business climate, Pakistani policymakers decry the program to mask inefficiencies and shield entrenched cronyism. A companion report cautions that without rethinking strategies and ditching cosmetic tightening, low growth will persist, dooming average citizens to prolonged hardship.

Post-2022, IMF-monitored policies have hammered the public with tax hikes and subsidy slashes, while elite spending remains untouched. This inequitable approach exacerbates pain for the masses, underscoring the need for introspective, comprehensive fixes over external blame.