Debt, deficits and dysfunction constitute the three fault lines, which define Pakistan’s looming economic reckoning. Pakistan’s economic crisis has become a story of recurring fault lines: rising public debt, missed tax targets, and sluggish growth. By the end of FY25, public debt had climbed to Rs80.6 trillion – up 13 percent – driven by a yawning fiscal deficit of Rs7.1 trillion and slower-than-expected GDP growth.

The Asian Development Bank projects only 3 percent growth for the year, well below the government’s 4.2 percent target. The IMF, too, has cast doubt on the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR’s) reform plan.

This gap between ambition and reality reflects more than weak economics; it underscores decades of governance rot.

Successive governments have pledged to broaden the tax base, only to retreat when powerful lobbies resist. The result is an inequitable system where corporates and the salaried class shoulder the heaviest burden while agriculture, traders, and politically-connected sectors remain largely untouched. To plug the gap, the state borrows more, perpetuating a cycle of debt and dependence.

The key questions are: where do these........

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