Pakistan is not resource-poor. Pakistan is short on command. Pakistan is not capital-poor. Pakistan is coordination-poor. Minerals exist, but permits stall. Energy capacity exists, but circular debt grows. Youth exists, but skills mismatch persists. FDI interest exists, but capital hesitates because contracts are not enforced on time and disputes linger in courts.
Red alert: These are not market failures. They are command failures.
We must establish a National Capital Command (NCC), a single command for capital with statutory authority over ministries, regulators, and provinces for nationally designated priority projects. The NCC must be one approval window, one signature, one binding timeline: 60 to 90 days. Remember, markets respond to prices and capital responds to command clarity.
The NCC kills three birds with one stone: it compresses decision time, eliminates veto points, and collapses the risk premium. Pakistan's growth is not waiting for ideas; it is waiting for orders. The goal here is faster financial close, accelerated project execution, and an immediate uplift in FDI and private capital expenditure.
We must establish a ‘Dollar-first-doctrine’. We must have an ‘Export-Linked Growth Framework (ELGF)’. We must have a ‘Balance-of-Payments First Strategy (BOP-First)’. Energy must be guaranteed for exporters and automatic tax refunds with zero discretion. Policies should be reordered to privilege activities that earn or save dollars. Sectors should be prioritised – defence services and equipment, minerals, IT and textiles. Growth stalls when FX binds. Prioritising dollar earners breaks the stop-go cycle.
Remember, Pakistan’s binding constraint is not savings or skills. It is foreign exchange – and you can’t grow what you can’t pay for.
We must also establish a Contract Enforcement Authority (CEA) – contracts not committees. We must centralise commercial justice for investment contracts by establishing dedicated commercial benches with strict timelines. CEA must enforce awards; no stays without bonds. Lower cost of capital; domestic investment crowds in. We must establish performance KPIs for regulators tied to investment outcomes. Remember, investors don’t need incentives; they need enforcement. Capital does not fear low returns; it fears uncertainty.
At its core, Pakistan’s economic crisis is not a failure of markets, money, or manpower. It is a failure of command. Centralised authority can police the street, but it must build the economy. Centralised authority must issue orders that unlock capital, protect contracts and earn dollars.
Pakistan’s growth problem is not economic. It is operational – and operations respond to command. Pakistan does not need new visions, slogans, or committees. It needs execution – fast, disciplined and predictable.
Economic history is unambiguous. Growth accelerates when command is clear, timelines are enforced, and contracts are sacred. The arithmetic is unforgiving. Without dollars, growth stalls. Without contracts, capital stays away. And, without command clarity, systems freeze.
KPIs should be public and commanders should be named for each priority sector or project. Yes, there should be automatic removal or demotion for missed milestones. Markets don’t trust structures. They trust track records. Remember, no mission – military or economic – succeeds without a commander who owns results. Not to forget that capital hates federal–provincial warfare more than bad tax rates.
Red alert: Until command failure is fixed, every economic reform will remain a memo, not a result. Capital does not wait for intent. It moves when orders are issued and enforced.
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. He tweets/posts @saleemfarrukh and can be reached at: [email protected]
