Pakistan may end up seeking aid from Bangladesh: Former World Bank adviser

Penning an article titled "Aid from Bangladesh", Abid Hasan, a former adviser to the World Bank for the Pakistan Programme, praised Dhaka’s economic growth and criticized Islamabad for having  gone around the world with a "begging bowl".

"It was unthinkable, 20 years back, that Bangladesh's GDP per capita in 2020 would be almost twice that of Pakistan. Bangladesh could be an economic powerhouse in 2030 if it grows at the same rate as in the past," he wrote in the article that appeared in the Pakistani newspaper The News.

"If Pakistan continues its dismal performance, it is in the realm of possibility that we could be seeking aid from Bangladesh in 2030,” Hasan wrote, news agency UNB reported.

Abid Hasan, a former member of Pakistan Economic Advisory Committee and Federal Board of Revenue Tax Reforms Group, said to establish an economically strong Pakistan, it was imperative for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government to reach out to all political parties for developing a national consensus on the fundamental reforms necessary to accelerate inclusive growth and simultaneously lower debt.

Hasan said every government in Pakistan, including the incumbent, has gone around the world with a "begging bowl".

"We're now drowning in debt and stuck in an anemic growth orbit and will continue to be this way since no government has pursued the deep reforms necessary to establish an economically strong Pakistan," he said.

Hasan said Pakistan's leaders have conveniently blamed their rivals and the IMF and the World Bank for the country’s poor economic performance.

Though the IMF/WB have often peddled "poorly thought out and one-size-fits-all" policies and bad loans but the deep hole that Pakistan is in is largely it's own doing, he wrote.

While corruption and the economic impact of terrorism has a role in the mess, for the most part, the poor performance is a result of pursuing irresponsible, inappropriate and unpredictable policies, and half-hearted reforms, he added.

Bangladesh was created out of what was former East Pakistan in December 1971 after a clash of culture, language and identity led to a violent independence movement which culminated in India midwifing the birth of the new country after a 13-day war with Pakistan.