For a large section of Pakistanis, it is more of a windy going all along than anything close to winds of change, let alone a turnaround windfall.
Conditioned to expecting manna from the skies—partially due to our power elites’ proclamations and promises of a ‘borrowed’ bonanza yet to descend upon us and, in part, due to our own shirking selves—we have become used to being perpetually in search of foreign-funded salvation.
Leave alone the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and forget long-standing bilateral and multilateral redeemers; every few years, our ruling elites discover another rationale, a raison d’être, another alliance, or a deal that the nation becomes dependent on to finally put us onto the path of prolonged prosperity and end the common man’s woes.
As we embark on our 80th year as an independent state, it is high time we let go of this dependence and started practising real ‘independence’ by becoming primarily self-dependent. We must look inward for sources of support and optimism: reformed institutions, home-grown transformative economic policies focused on growth, an equitable justice system, sustainable peace and uplifting in the marginalised areas, and sustainable, climate-adapted systems to pull our people out of the malediction of poverty, malnutrition and food insecurity.
GSP+ Reality Check
Last month, the European Union’s GSP+ Country Assessment 2026 listed, much to our dismay and dislike, the shortcomings in Pakistan’s compliance with its human rights commitments, cautioning that Islamabad would have to address these issues in order to qualify under the revised GSP framework in 2027.
The Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) framework, which grants Pakistan preferential trade access in exchange for adherence to international covenants on human rights, including environmental protection and good governance, is the EU’s primary structural lever over Pakistan’s policymaking.
Our ten years with CPEC have well demonstrated the limitations of relying on external partnerships alone, which cannot be replacements for the much-challenging and much-needed homework
Despite acknowledging positive developments in key areas, there is no glossing over the fact that Brussels has expressed major concerns in other areas. While the report credits Pakistan with commendable progress in terms of the “narrowing of death penalty’s scope, new laws against child marriage and domestic violence, ratification of the ILO forced-labour protocol”, and an encouraging record on climate and environmental commitments, significant systemic shortfalls still abound.
According to the report, there is a notable paucity in the implementation of human rights conventions, with a “deterioration of the situation relating in particular to enforced disappearances, minority rights, freedom of media, and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.” Impunity for rights violations continues to be a prime concern too.
This lack of headway in ensuring the ‘basics’ and ‘basic rights’ that together constitute major determinants of national self-sufficiency might be the reason Pakistan has to repeatedly rely on other countries to foster positive change at home.
Perhaps committed and consistent efforts in the realm of rights and the reforming of institutions are more difficult tasks to undertake than signing promising deals and agreements with other countries. One is a slow, sustained, and unseen effort, while the other receives immediate recognition and reward with its loud, overt optics.
Likewise, establishing political consensus and improving multi-level governance are long-term goals, not as hurried or hammy as announcing the signing of a foreign deal promising huge investments and heralding the end of unemployment in the country; which is why we always see more of the latter than the formidable former.
The Illusion of Foreign Panaceas
In a similar stride, the recent Makkah Joint Defence Agreement seems to have ignited another spark of self-praising hopefulness across multiple spectrums. Though the pact will certainly further strengthen Pakistan’s geopolitical and strategic position, its efficacy should only be assessed rationally rather than associating it with ends it is not meant to achieve. Last month, Saudi Arabia rolled over a $5 billion cash deposit for Pakistan for another three years. Pinning hopes on this to continue forever, more so due to our security agreements with Saudi Arabia, is self-defeating and presumptuous.
The tendency to look for panaceas outside the borders to enable change and transformation at home dates back decades. Soon after the country’s inception in 1947, our leadership started placing its hopes in the US, joining SEATO and CENTO as a fledgling state vying for geopolitical influence and economic gains through its defence partnership with the US.
But despite the repeated bashing and dashing of such dreams, over the years, our ruling elites continued to embrace new alliances, expecting external allies to help increase the country’s strategic presence and generate economic gains and monetary inflows.
When the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was formally launched in 2015, it was highly hailed as a watershed moment per se, with the then Nawaz Sharif government promoting it as the treaty that was a sure shot at sprinting Pakistan’s slow advancement towards economic eminence. And while CPEC has achieved a lot by attracting over $25.9 billion in direct investment in Pakistan and carrying out crucial energy and infrastructure projects, more than a decade after its launch, the much-promised prosperity remains as elusive. Pakistan’s external account and foreign exchange (FE) reserves still continue to be stabilised only by foreign debts, loan roll-overs, and rising remittances from overseas Pakistanis.
Our ten years with CPEC have well demonstrated the limitations of relying on external partnerships alone, which cannot be replacements for the much-challenging and much-needed homework that is the requisite for sustained social and economic progress. Unfortunately, inadequate exports, unemployment, low productivity, and recurring balance-of-payments crises still remain the defining factors of the economy.
Afghan Miscalculation
There was once a time when we were also guilty of the naiveté of imagining an economic turnaround through Afghanistan. When the Taliban came to power, we had aspired to connect economically and strategically with Central Asia and the regions beyond through Afghanistan.
The Taliban entered Kabul on the 15th of August 2021, a day after Pakistan celebrated its independence, as the then prime minister, Imran Khan, remarked that Afghans had broken the “shackles of slavery”. At that point, Pakistan became one of the staunchest advocates of international engagement with the new Taliban administration, thinking the advent would herald an economic boom through new routes to Central Asia and curb terrorist violence in the country.
Five years on, reality is in complete defiance. Commercial trade borders are closed with Afghanistan, and relations are defined by periodic cross-border skirmishes, with the Taliban regime paying no heed to repeated calls for cooperation regarding our deteriorating security situation. As insecurity across the border becomes one of Pakistan’s gravest internal threats, the scenario is far from facilitating regional connectivity or peace.
Looking Inward
The underlying psychology of having been conditioned to look outward all along for a change in our fate is most fallacious and misleading. Self-reliance is the only relatable reality, and with the GSP+ demands for re-application having been clearly laid out for us, we should seize upon this opportunity to right the wrongs at home as a first step towards true independence.
Pragmatism demands a blanket course correction and treating GSP+ as a juncture for reforms and renewals that we have dodged and delayed for too long in the hope of a marvel from across the seas to bless us.
Every few years, a new narrative of hope is erected and espoused that a breakthrough is just around the corner, prosperity is waiting beyond the horizon, and Pakistan need only stay put for the miracle to materialise.