Page 64 - CMA Journal (Nov-Dec 2025)

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The low per-capita income and economic vulnerabilities Pakistan is required to objectively select the most relevant
highlight the urgent need for equitable, inclusive, and elements of developing economies in its development
resilience focused development to translate into framework, supported by improving civil liberties,
broad-based prosperity or sustainable development. transparency, investment in strengthening educational
and research institutions, regulatory frameworks, and
However, the country continues to depend substantially
on external financial support, through bilateral assistance labor standards. A new paradigm should respect
from the United States, China, and GCC partners, and community sensitivities and local contexts. It should be
repeated stabilization programs with the IMF and other framed around its own social and ecological realities.
lenders, reflecting deeper structural challenges in National wealth is indigenous knowledge and a deep
achieving economic self-reliance. understanding of natural resources, particularly in
sustainable land use and water stewardship, which
Global Lessons for Pakistan’s Development Path provides a value driven foundation on which such a
Developing economies have been brought into being by framework can be built. Minerals are the passive gifts of
resource abundance and the potential for high returns, the Earth. Control over minerals indeed controls industrial
which influences their economic growth. However, production, and at the same time represents an ethical test
mismanagement and high abundance of natural resource of how societies reconcile development with stewardship.
rents can damage the global environment. In G7 countries, From Vulnerability to Resilience
economic growth and total natural resource rents have
enhanced carbon dioxide emissions and degraded the The recent studies published in renowned journals that
1
environment in the long run. includes Nature Partner Journal-Natural Hazards , Nature
Partner Journal- Climate and Atmospheric Science , and
2
The People’s Republic of China, established in 1949, initially 3
followed the Centralized Socialism model, where the state Earth’s Future confirm that extreme rainfall and
owns industry and agriculture and regulates prices and atmospheric river systems of Pakistan are becoming
production quotas. During this period, basic literacy and increasingly intense. Climate change is profoundly
health improved. Reforms in the seventies witnessed a affecting the national economy and testing the resilience
transformation toward a “socialist market economy” where of the country. A test the country has repeatedly failed over
state control coexisted with market dynamics. China’s entry the past eight decades. he 2022 floods showed how
into the WTO in 2001 deepened integration with global extreme climate events can reverse years of mismatched
commerce, which was followed by technological upgrades development within weeks, development that challenges
after 2010, witnessing high-tech manufacturing and an era natural ecology.
of AI, robotics, semiconductors, and green technologies Now, it is time for the nation to learn lessons from history.
(EVs, batteries, solar). China has become a global leader in A diversified, technologically upgraded economy
electronics, electric vehicles, and solar technologies, supported by indigenous resources and an industrial base
dominating critical metals processing and battery and solar is essential for social, economic, and environmental
panel manufacturing. China’s trajectory highlights the need resilience. Strengthening domestic production reduces
for coherent long-term industrial strategies aligned with exposure to external volatility. Communities rooted in
global technological shifts. ecological balance have demonstrated adaptive capacities
that modern institutions often seek to replicate.
India’s early commitment to technological and scientific
capacity, exemplified by the IITs, research councils, and Rural Power Dynamics and the Need for
public research labs, supported later growth in Integrated Reform
pharmaceuticals, IT, and renewable technologies. India
started in 1951 to build its scientific and technological Agriculture still remains the backbone of Pakistan’s
capacity; there are now 23 IITs across India. Pakistan can economy, contributing 23% of GDP and employing nearly
draw from this experience by strengthening existing 40% of the workforce, according to the Economic Survey of
professional universities and research institutes with Pakistan 2024–25. It supports rural livelihoods, supplies
financial and administrative autonomy. Leadership raw materials to major industries including textiles, sugar,
responsibility should be entrusted to capable leaders to and leather, and underpins food security, export earnings,
strengthen the foundation for a knowledge-based and poverty reduction. However, the sector continues to
economy. face major challenges, including water scarcity, climate
vulnerability, aging irrigation infrastructure, fragmented
Singapore demonstrates governance based on the
people’s trust. Despite limited natural resources, the landholdings, weak extension services, and limited access
country provides an example of transparent governance, to formal credit.
efficient logistics, institutional reliability, and world class In the past, land reforms failed to deliver meaningful
academic institutions. Its world-class ports, transformation because they were unable to address the
communication networks, and governance attract broader rural power structure.
high-tech manufacturing and global finance.

1.
Shah M, Ali R, Hussain S. Hydroclimatic drivers of Pakistan’s 2022 megaflood. npj Natural Hazards. 2025.
2. Ahmed F, Siddiqui T, Nawaz A. Anthropogenic and regional drivers of extreme monsoon rainfall in Pakistan. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. 2024.
3.
Khan S, Aslam M, Lin Y. Atmospheric river dynamics during Pakistan’s 2022 floods. Earth’s Future. 2024
ICMA’s Chartered Management Accountant, Nov-Dec 2025