FOR half a century, Pakistan’s economic debate has circled the same two prescriptions: com-press imports or expand exports. Both have failed to deliver and both will continue to fail — not because the intent is wrong, but because the arithmetic and the timelines are. If Pakistan genuinely wants to move from a chronic current account deficit to a sustainable surplus, the answer lies in two channels it already possesses but has never fully harnessed: foreign re-mittances and IT exports.

Consider first why the conventional wisdom falls short. Reducing imports is not a solution; it is an anaesthetic. Pakistan’s import bill is dominated by energy, industrial raw material and machinery — the very inputs that keep factories running and exports moving. Every time Is-lamabad slams the brakes on imports, growth stalls, tax revenues shrink and the deficit re-appears the moment the economy breathes again. Import compression buys quarters, not........

© Pakistan Observer