ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister of Planning Ahsan Iqbal on Monday said corruption was not the reason holding back Pakistan’s economic development, claiming that there were examples of countries that managed to progress despite similar levels of corruption.
The PML-N leader indicated that the far bigger impediments to Pakistan’s growth were “political instability and policy reversals” as opposed to corruption.
“I can count many countries in the world that have developed despite having similar corruption as ours but you can’t point out a single country that has progressed despite political instability and discontinuity of policy,” Iqbal said while addressing a seminar “Unblock Pakistan’s Economic Potential” organised by Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI).
Giving examples of Bangladesh and India, the federal minister said that both countries managed to progress despite having similar corruption as Pakistan.