International News: After the recent big terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Pakistan is being condemned all over the world. At the same time, India has also shown Pakistan its place in response to the attack and has stopped all its food and water supply. Pakistan is already facing an economic crisis, and any strict action by India can make its condition worse. If we look at the condition of Pakistan's economy, Pakistan has neither gold nor dollars and its foreign reserves are also almost negligible. In such a situation, if there is a war, Pakistan will face the biggest crisis in 78 years. Let us know what is the economic condition of Pakistan at present and how far behind it is compared to India
Pakistan's faltering economy
- Pakistan has been facing economic challenges for a long time. Heavy debt, rising inflation, falling foreign exchange reserves and political instability have weakened its economy.
- At present, Pakistan's fiscal deficit has reached 7.4 percent, which is very worrying for its economic health.
- Pakistan's GDP growth rate for the year 2024-25 is estimated to be only 3.1 percent, which is much lower than the global average.
- By October 2024, the total debt of the Pakistan government has increased to a record 70.36 lakh crore Pakistani rupees. This means that every Pakistani citizen has an average debt of 2.34 lakh Pakistani rupees.
- According to international agency Fitch Ratings, Pakistan has to repay external debt of more than $22 billion in the financial year 2025.
- Tax revenue is also very low. In 2024, the share of tax revenue in GDP was only 6.8 percent, whereas before the pandemic it was 10.8 percent. This has also had a big impact on the income of the government.
Increasing dependence on the IMF
Pakistan's economy is currently running almost entirely on the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In September 2024, the IMF gave Pakistan a new bailout package of $7 billion. This is Pakistan's 24th bailout - a world record. This clearly shows that Pakistan is now completely dependent on external assistance for its financial needs.
There is also a huge difference between assets and reserves
- There is a huge gap between India and Pakistan in terms of gold reserves also.
- Pakistan has only 64.74 tonnes of gold, whereas India has gold reserves of more than 800 tonnes.
- India is also many times ahead of Pakistan in foreign exchange reserves, which strengthens its economic stability.
Pakistan's sinking stock market
Pakistan's stock market is also facing a serious crisis. Last week, Pakistan's KSE-100 index recorded a massive drop of about 2,000 points in a day. The situation was so bad that the website of Pakistan Stock Exchange also crashed and a message appeared on it - "Well be back soon."
Strength of india
- On the other hand, India is moving ahead strongly on the economic front.
- India's economy was approximately 10 times larger than Pakistan's in 2023.
- According to World Bank data, after 2000, India's GDP had grown 5.6 times in 2004, 7.2 times in 2009, and 8.8 times in 2019 compared to Pakistan.
- Today India is counted among the fastest growing economies in the world, which remains a major attraction for investors.
- Pakistan's economic condition is already very fragile. Any retaliatory action by India can worsen its situation. Pakistan is not only economically very weak compared to India, but its economic dependence and internal challenges are also constantly pushing it back. Managing its economy will remain a big challenge for Pakistan in the coming times.
