The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has given a big blow to Pakistan . In fact, the IMF has asked debt-ridden Pakistan to immediately end special concessions, tax exemptions and other protection for the agriculture and textile sectors. A media report said on Monday that the IMF says that this has slowed down Pakistan's growth rate for decades. According to the newspaper Dawn, the IMF has said in its report to pull out Pakistan's crisis-ridden economy that these two sectors are not only blamed for failing to contribute enough to the national revenue, but also for being inefficient and non-competitive as well as misusing government money. After the recently approved $7 billion relief package, the IMF stressed that Pakistan will have to change its economic policies of the last 75 years to avoid the boom-bust cycle. 

Pakistan is far behind compared to other countries 

The IMF report released on October 10 highlighted that Pakistan is lagging far behind other countries. It is in a 'stagnation' that has affected living standards and pushed more than 40.5 percent of the population below the poverty line. As of 2022, Pakistan was ranked 85th in the Economic Complexity Index, the same as it was in 2000. "With exports heavily tilted towards agriculture and textiles (cotton yarn, rice, woven fabrics, beef and leather apparel), the country has struggled to reallocate resources to more technologically complex products," the report said. 

Pakistan continued to weaken 

According to the report, the current focus on agriculture has limited Pakistan's ability to diversify into more technically complex commodities. Although Pakistan exports some high-value products such as pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and plastic products, these sectors operate in a highly distorted economic environment.