ISLAMABAD: The Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, has said that providing jobs is not the government’s primary responsibility, focusing on the need to shift the long-standing perception that the state must directly employ citizens.
He noted that Pakistan’s growing IT sector and freelance economy are creating new opportunities for young people, making skills development more important than ever.
The Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi, IBA Executive Director Dr. S. Akbar Zaidi expressed concern over the country’s economic trajectory. He warned that Pakistan is experiencing rapid decline, with major economic indicators moving in the wrong direction.
He said that while governments around the world support the private sector by offering a business-friendly environment, Pakistan continues to lag behind in this regard.
In this regard, Dr. Zaidi mentioned Pakistan’s ranking of 168 on the Human Development Index, calling it “deeply alarming.” He argued that discussions about a new economy or an IT revolution appear unrealistic under current circumstances.
He recalled that the State Bank governor recently acknowledged that Pakistan’s economic structure cannot sustain a population of 250 million.
Similarly, the Special Investment Facilitation Council’s coordinator admitted that the overall investment climate is weak and that even local investors are taking their capital abroad.
These conditions, he said, have contributed to shrinking job opportunities in the country. Pakistan’s unemployment rate has risen to 7.1 percent, the highest since 2004, a figure Dr. Zaidi believes is underreported.
He added that nearly 3.5 million young people enter the job market each year. The finance minister did not directly address unemployment; he stressed the importance of upskilling and reskilling youth to align them with emerging economic trends.
Pakistan today is at a stage similar to where South Korea stood 50 years ago. World Bank Country Director Dr. Bholorma Amgaabazar noted that 60 percent of Pakistan’s population is under 30.
She said this large youth cohort possesses significant potential, but without adequate jobs and vocational skills, that potential cannot be realized.
Meanwhile, the Economist Dr. Ali Cheema warned that without controlling population growth, Pakistan’s economic model cannot expand. Meanwhile, Dr. Haneed Mukhtar pointed out that Pakistan’s per-capita income is 71 percent lower than India’s and 53 percent lower than Bangladesh’s, largely due to low investment rates and a rapidly growing population.
