Atlantic Council Senior Adviser Harlan Ullman writes for the Pakistani Daily Times on the various factors at play in Pakistan’s future:
In many ways, if the outlook for Pakistan were a weather report, the forecast is much brighter than it was even a year ago. The Army’s offensive against Taliban and terrorists of most stripes has yielded excellent result so far. Nawaz Sharif’s government has made some headway in righting the economic ship of state. China’s decision to commit nearly $50 billion to commission “the new silk road” and enhance the port of Gwadar augurs well. And India’s new prime minister appears conducive to relieving the decades old rivalry and conflict with Pakistan.
The Asian Development bank confirms these positive economic trends citing “revival in construction and steady expansion in manufacturing and services edged up growth in gross domestic product (GDP) …. underpinned by low international oil prices and the expected uptick in economic growth in advanced economies…. However, progress remains slow in a challenging political and security environment.”