DR Miftah Ismail and I co-wrote a column in these pages on Jan 9 explaining how people in Pakistan are “eating less” today than in 2018-19, despite spending more on food.

The piece created considerable ripples. Dr Faisal Bari, a senior economist, subsequently wrote about the “difficult times” people are enduring and referred to our analysis. Other economists have echoed similar concerns in recent weeks. Khurram Hussain wrote about the “end of stability” on Jan 15, while Akbar Zaidi stated plainly on Dec 19, 2025 that the economy is “in decline.” Fahd Husain captured the public mood succinctly when he wrote “V for victory and H for hunger”, again referring to our findings.

The concerns about the economy are reinfor­ced by the recent press conference of S.M. Tan­v­eer, a senior leader of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and a prominent industrialist. He revealed that 140 to 150 textile mills have permanently shut down, while several other major companies are “on a ventilator” due to the mind-bogglingly high cost of doing business in Pakistan.

This, he warned, is resulting in rising unemployment and the collapse of the manufacturing sector, and he aptly described the current so-called stability as stagnation.

Who, then, would invest in Pakistan in such an environment?

Unsurprisingly, earlier this week the State Bank of Pakistan reported a sharp 43 per cent decline in foreign direct investment during the first six months of the current fiscal year (FY26), compared to the same period in........

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