here was a time in the 1960s when Pakistan was seen as a nation emerging with a progressive mindset. Many infra-structure projects had been launched. These included construction of dams and barrages all over the country.

Industrialisation was a national priority. Key policies promoted industrial growth, leading to the development of textiles, cement and sugar. These in turn contributed to job creation. Pakistan enjoyed healthy economic growth in the mid-1960s, with an impressive average GDP growth rate of 6.7 percent. The Green Revolution introduced high yielding seeds leading to a surge in agricultural production. High crop yields were achieved, particularly for wheat and rice. This was a major step towards making Pakistan self-sufficient in food.

All in all, Pakistan seemed destined to become a regional power. The bureaucracy was led by officers having good reputation. Pakistan International Airlines ranked amongst top airlines of the world. The likes of John F Kennedy, the president of United States and Queen Elizabeth of England praised it and preferred travelling by it when visiting the region. The then US first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, famously endorsed the slogan: Great people to fly with.

Several countries in the region saw Pakistan as a role model. South Korea for instance adopted Pakistan’s five-year development planning practice to spur industrialisation.

With such a headstart, Pakistan ought to be among the developed nations by now. However, it is still a Third World nation.

At a seminar on Lessons from Korean Development, organised by the Planning Commission of Pakistan in 2013, Professor Jwa Sung Hee of Korean Development Institute stated that South Korea crafted its plans in the 1960s with the technical assistance of Pakistani planning professionals.

Today, PIA is a byword for over staffing, inefficiency and poor customer care resulting in huge financial losses. It has one of the worst employee-to-aircraft ratios.

The May 2020 crash in Karachi was followed by the startling admission by the then minister for aviation that more than 30 percent of its pilots had fake licenses. This further tarnished the airline’s reputation and resulted in a ban on landing of its aircraft at many international destinations, mainly over safety concerns.

Many countries in the region saw Pakistan as a role model. For instance, South Korea adopted Pakistani practice of five-year development programs for industrialisation. At a seminar in 2013, Prof Jwa Sung Hee of Korean Development Institute stated that South Korea had crafted its plans in the 1960s with the technical assistance of Pakistan’s planning professionals.

The access to education situation is bleak. 26 million of our children do not attend school, the highest number anywhere in the world. The literacy rate is 60 percent but the criteria set for declaring somebody literate are not satisfactory. It seems that the education sector has never been accorded priority. Only 1.7 percent of the GDP is spent on education: amongst the lowest in the world. Speaking at a recent National Conference on Education Emergency, the prime minister announced: “I declare from this moment an emergency in education [sector] all over Pakistan.” It is good that the emergency has been acknowledged at the highest level. However, we have to go beyond the acknowledgment and take concrete measures to effect a turnaround. This will require a concerted effort by all concerned, on a scale never before undertaken. All stake holders, including educationalists, policymakers and politicians must be on board to make a multi-faceted and unified effort.

Pakistan has dismal gender inequality statistics. It was ranked 145 out of 146 countries by the World Economic Forum in its 2022 Global Gender Inequality Gap Index, and 161 out of 191 countries on the Human Development Report’s Gender Inequality Index.

According to Nilofar Bakhtiar, the National Commission on the Status of Women chairperson, systematic subordination of women is sustaining a gender gap in every sphere of life. There is thus an urgent need to take urgent measures to rectify this situation.

Knut Ostby, the resident representative of the UNDP has pointed out: “Transformational change can be brought about for Pakistan’s women by directly and inclusively targeting gender parity stressors with policy solutions and structural interventions.”

How a country’s passport is treated abroad is a reflection of its overall international credibility and the global mobility that its citizens enjoy. The Henley Passport Index places Pakistan fourth from the bottom. Only 31 countries allow Pakistani citizens to travel without a visa.

The country has also been listed among the most corrupt nations the Transparency International in its Corruption Perception Index.

The author, a senior consultant at the Burki Institute of Public Policy at Netsol, is a corporate member of Institution of Engineering Technology, UK, and a Chartered Engineer, UK