LAHORE:
Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday called for sweeping structural reforms in Pakistan’s economy, arguing that the country remains stuck in a decades-old fiscal mentality, growing debt cycles and elite-led governance that continue to hinder sustainable growth.
Speaking at a budget seminar at a private university, he said Pakistan’s current fiscal approach remains fundamentally similar to that of the early 1990s, relying largely on new taxes to plug budget deficits rather than expanding the economic base.
“In 1990, when our government came to power, attempts at reforms were made,” he said, recalling that even then, commissions would sit for hours and impose taxes on a handful of products to plug budget deficits. “We still do the same thing today.”
He said he had remained involved in budget-making processes for almost four decades, but the structural approach had not changed significantly.
Abbasi said Pakistan now had to decide its direction, adding that repeated wars and external engagements had not translated into economic stability.
He said the country’s priority should be to improve growth, but lamented that every attempt to boost growth was followed by a decline in investment.
He stressed the need for deep reforms in governance and fiscal management, saying wasteful spending, including bureaucratic costs and official privileges, reflected an entrenched mentality that needed to be changed.
