PAKISTAN’S external sector has once again exposed the economy’s structural weaknesses that bilateral debt rollovers and short-term stabilisation measures had helped conceal. The sharp 31pc decline in FDI in the first 10 months of FY26, coupled with the return of the current account deficit in April, underscores how the balance-of-payments position remains fragile despite stabilisation claims. It is not merely the fall in foreign investment volumes that is troubling but also the stubbornly meagre levels of FDI inflows for the past several years, which have fluctuated only marginally. More than half the FDI came from China, reflecting our inability to boost foreign private inflows or diversify the foreign investment base. While Chinese investment is critical, it highlights the........

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