WE lag economically even in South Asia. This lag is well-known but not its huge scale. To display that, I compare Saarc economies using World Bank data which runs up to 2022 and thus excludes our poor 2023 data. I focus on the state we left (India) and the one that left us (Bangladesh) to show our lag even against ones with similar DNAs.

GDP: South Asia (mean), Bangladesh and India’s GDP per capita in 2022 were about $2,200, $2,700 and $2,300, but ours was only $1,600. Their 10-year mean GDP growths were about six per cent but ours only 4.4pc and inflation was 5.3pc, 6.2pc and 5.6pc. Ours was 8pc (and 30pc inflation in 2023). The investment-GDP ratio of the other three is 30pc but ours only 15pc. Only high investment and productivity ensure long-term high GDP growth. Our low ratio shows that our brief growth spurts under Musharraf, the PML-N and PTI came from high fiscal and external deficits and money supply growth and caused economic crises in 2008, 2018 and 2023.

External balance: We do worse here. Since 2000, we have had seven economic crises that led us to IMF against three for Bangladesh and none for India. This mainly reflects our poor exports, foreign investment and reserves flows. South Asia, Bangladesh and India’s 10-year........

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