Pakistan is a country which is undoubtedly blessed with best resources

Pakistan is a country which is undoubtedly blessed with best resources. Pakistan is situated in an area which is rich in natural resources. Pakistan encompasses bulk of natural resources, minerals, fertilizers, blessing of four seasons, water resources and this list goes on. Pakistan has all those things which any developed country can have. However the recession in business cycle, poor management by political and bureaucratic elites, corruption, wrong policies and lack of government intervention has paved its way to one of the poor countries.
Starting off with the natural resources that Pakistan comprises off. The first resource in Pakistan is the coal reserves. Pakistan has 2nd largest coal reserves. Thar coal reserves have 175 billion tons of coal, which is equivalent to 618 billion barrels of crude oil. “If we compare it with the top four countries Canada, Iran, Iraq and Kuwait than the oil reserves of Pakistan are equivalent to these countries similarly comparing it with KSA, it has more than twice oil reserves of KSA.It has the largest gold and copper reserves.In addition to this Pakistan is Asia’s largest camel market, second largest apricot and ghee market and third largest cotton, milk and onion market. Since Pakistan is an agricultural country so it is ranked fifth in the Muslim world and twentieth worldwide in farm output. Indubitably, Pakistan is rich in the production of wheat thus according to FAO in 2005 Pakistan produced 21591400 metric tons of wheat which is more than that of Africa and nearly as much as all of South America. Coupled with this, Pakistan has the largest irrigation system in the world. And it irrigates three times more acres than Russia.
Besides having immense resources Pakistan is still facing economic crisis. Because of the poor management. As said earlier Pakistan is rich in the production of wheat and therefore Pakistan exports wheat in bulk which leads to shortage of wheat in Pakistan which ultimately increases the price of wheat. Pakistan is facing trade deficit energy and water crisis.
Amongst the world’s 200 plus countries it has 2nd largest salt mines, 5th largest copper and gold reserves, 7th largest wheat and rice production capacity. It is the 6th most densely populated country in the world with a large ratio of young population. “According to CIA World Fact Book, It has more than 436.2 million barrels of oil, and 31.3 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves.” “The current oil production is 65,997 barrels per day while gas production is 4 billion cubic feet per day.” “Pakistan has a resource potential of 27 billion Barrels of Oil and 282 TCF of gas reserves in the country” Electricity crisis is hitting hard to the economy despite of having the potential to produce electricity from coal nothing has been done to solve this very issue. Summing up with this, Wind and solar energy are other resources that remained unexplored. Massive lands of Baluchistan can be utilized for solar electricity generation but due to technological backwardness and lack of innovative policies in Baluchistan, it hinders the production of solar electricity generation. Country’s hydropower potential is satisfying enough to meet the needs of energy. But unfortunately only “20,000 MW generation capacity is produced while the potential of producing it is 40,000 MW.” Instability and political differences are restraining the economic growth of the country and the steps that could be used to harness this problem. Pakistan has the largest system of irrigation in the world despite having this great blessing it is still facing water crisis for crops. “According to a research Out of 77 million acres cultivable area, only 55.5 million acres have been ploughed.” “Lack of research and development in country is the cause for many problems. All the blessings of the country are not being fully utilised which radically reduces production.
Since Pakistan is an agricultural country with the great room of animal husbandry Pakistan’s one of the best breeds of world lies in Pakistan for instance breeds of cow like Sahiwal cow are the best breeds. If proper steps are being taken with due care then this sector can actually increase the growth of country and can change the country trade deficit into trade surplus because this will increase the exports of dairy products.
One of the most imperative asset and resource in this globalized world is human resource. Pakistan has a densely population it does not have to face the shortage of labour but our policies have caused mounting unemployment of 15 percent.. Lack of opportunities are being provided to the youth which urges them to avail opportunities that are being provided to them abroad ultimately leading towards the brain drain of talented minds .all the loopholes ad flaws in government policies have put the country to the verge of destruction.
Almost 80 percent of oil is imported for the production of electricity through thermal generation. Whereas the second largest gem “coal” contributes only 2 percent of electricity generation. Poor resource management and political factors are not the sole factors behind this dilemma in Pakistan.
Many projects like hydro power projects, Thar coal project, and oil exploration projects are in problems because of bureaucratic bottlenecks. Similarly, corruption is another reason that gives rise to these problems. Riko deq projects standstill is an example of this case. Corruption has a negative effect on foreign investor. The terrorism in the northern areas is detrimental for tourism industry.
Poor management have badly affected Pakistan domestically and internationally. “The socio-economic situation remains gloomy as the GDP growth rate is one of the lowest in South Asia at 2.2 percent, trade deficit is estimated about $16 billion, inflation rate continues to be in double digits at 15 percent, population below poverty line is alarmingly around 35 percent, and unemployment is at 15 percent.”
Thus the above analysis clearly depicts that Pakistan is not poor, but a poorly managed country. Because of political instability, lack of vision and planning, flawed policies, bureaucratic bottlenecks and corruption, lack of human resource development, worsened law and order situation.