KARACHI: World Bank’s Regional Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser on Tuesday unveiled a series of policy recommendations to outline key areas requiring the attention of Pakistani authorities to improve the quality of life for its people.
Raiser, who is currently visiting the South Asian state and plans to meet officials on federal and provincial levels, primarily focused on issues like child stunting, education, fiscal sustainability, private sector growth, energy, agriculture, poverty and climate change.
The policy recommendations presented by him intend to help inform the public policy dialogue in the country ahead the general elections scheduled in February.
“Pakistan’s economy is stuck in a low-growth trap with poor human development outcomes and increasing poverty,” the senior World Bank official said in Islamabad. “Economic conditions leave Pakistan highly vulnerable to climate shocks, with insufficient public resources to finance development and climate adaptation.”
“It is now time for Pakistan to decide whether to maintain the patterns of the past or take difficult but crucial steps toward a brighter future,” he added.
The policy recommendations include the necessity of addressing the “acute human capital crisis” in the country, according to a World Bank statement, including the high prevalence of stunting and learning poverty by adopting a coordinated and coherent cross-sectoral approach.
The also suggest improving the quality of public spending and taking serious measures to expand the revenue base, ensuring that the better off pay their share.
Additionally, the recommendations called for Pursuing business regulatory and trade reforms and reducing the presence of the state in the economy to increase productivity, competitiveness, and exports.
“Almost 40 percent of children in Pakistan suffer from stunted growth, more than 78 percent of Pakistan’s children cannot read and understand a simple text by the age of 10,” Raiser said. “These are stark indicators of a silent human capital crisis that needs priority attention.”
“With additional spending on water and sanitation of around 1 percent of GDP per year and better coordination at the local level, stunting could be halved over a decade with significant positive impacts on growth and incomes,” he noted. “This is just one example of the huge economic benefits a coherent and decisive reform strategy could have.”
The World Bank official plans to interact with representatives from the private sector and academia during his stay in the country.
He will also visit various hydropower projects in Pakistan along with project sites in Sindh and Punjab.
Senior World Bank official proposes key reforms for Pakistan’s development ahead of elections
https://arab.news/99zra
Senior World Bank official proposes key reforms for Pakistan’s development ahead of elections
- Martin Raiser says Pakistan needs to decide if it wants to pursue past policies or take difficult and crucial steps ahead
- The World Bank official points out Pakistan’s low-growth economy is increasing poverty along with climate vulnerability
At least one killed, nine injured in IED blast in northwestern Pakistan
- Blast takes place near vehicle carrying employees of Lucky Cement factory in Lakki Marwat district, say police
- No group has claimed responsibility for IED blast as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police launch probe into the incident
PESHAWAR: At least one person was killed and nine others were injured in Pakistan’s northwestern Lakki Marwat district on Monday after an improvised explosive device (IED) blast occurred near a vehicle transporting employees of a cement factory, a police official said.
Lakki Marwat police official Shahid Marwat told Arab News the blast took place on the district’s Begu Khel Road at around 6:30 a.m. The explosion occurred near a vehicle carrying employees of the Lucky Cement factory located in the district, he said.
“Initial investigations suggest the device had been planted by militants,” Marwat said. “A rapid police response force was immediately deployed to the scene to evacuate the dead and wounded, secure the area and collect evidence.”
The police officer said several victims were in critical condition and were referred for treatment to the nearby Bannu district, adding that all those affected by the blast were residents of Begu Khel village.
He said police had launched an investigation into the incident.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have claimed responsibility for similar attacks in the past against Pakistani law enforcers and civilians in the province.
The TTP has carried out some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistani law enforcers since 2008 in its bid to impose its own brand of strict Islamic law across the country.
The attack comes as Pakistan struggles to contain a sharp surge in militant violence in recent months. According to statistics released last month by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), combat-related deaths in 2025 rose by 73 percent to 3,387, compared with 1,950 deaths in 2024.
These deaths included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians, and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said. Most of the attacks took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Pashtun-majority districts and southwestern Balochistan province, the PICSS noted.
On Sunday, three traffic police officials were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Lakki Marwat district. No group claimed responsibility for the incident.
Islamabad accuses the Afghan government of harboring militants who launch attacks against Pakistan, a charge Kabul repeatedly denies. The surge in militant attacks in Pakistan has strained ties between the two neighbors, with Islamabad urging Kabul to take steps to dismantle militant outfits allegedly operating from its soil.
