IMF Exposes Pakistan's Governance & Corruption | Experts' Commentary on Economic Crisis

Pakistan’s economic crisis isn’t just numbers — it’s a story of broken systems, failed incentives, political decay, and an economy repeatedly pushed into the IMF’s emergency room.

🔥 Internal Debate: IMF & World Bank — Advisors or Enablers?

In this episode of SIA Conversations, Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque sits down with Pakistan’s most experienced economic minds — Salman Shah, Asad Ali Shah, and Ali Salman — to unpack the IMF’s new corruption diagnostic report, governance failures, elite-driven policies, and the deeper structural crisis that keeps Pakistan trapped in stagnation.


🔥 What the IMF Corruption Report Really Exposes
Systemic rent-seeking
Missing checks & balances
Political capture & misuse of state resources
Gaps in rule of law, judiciary independence & enforcement

🔥 Why Governance Reforms Keep Failing
Anti-corruption bodies with no real power
Tax administration loopholes
Oversized government & extractive regulations
Unrealistic IMF programs disconnected from ground realities

🔥 Reimagining Pakistan’s Economic Model
Deregulation
Market-driven policies
Ending SOE losses
Rolling back state overreach
Building institutions that actually deliver

This episode is intense, thought-provoking, and absolutely essential for anyone trying to understand why Pakistan keeps falling—again and again—and what it would take to finally stand up.

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#Crisis #Policy #Development #SIA #NadeemUlHaque #IMFReport #CorruptionIndex #governancecrisis #SIAconversations #Debate #Podcast

00:00 – Introduction: Why Pakistan’s Crisis Is Different
03:45 – Merit, Attitudes & the Comfort Problem
09:10 – IMF’s Corruption Diagnostic: What It Reveals
15:55 – Governance Gaps, Missing Laws & Institutional Weaknesses
22:20 – Everyday Corruption & State Capture Explained
28:45 – Why Anti-Corruption Bodies Fail Repeatedly
34:30 – IMF & World Bank: Help or Part of the Problem?
41:15 – Mortgage Refinancing, 2008 Crisis & Policy Missteps
48:00 – Incentives vs Disincentives in Pakistan’s Economic System
55:40 – Why Pakistan’s Economic Model Is Broken
1:02:20 – Deregulation, SOEs & Institutional Reforms Needed
1:08:30 – Can Pakistan Break the Boom-Bust Cycle?
1:14:00 – Final Thoughts: A New Model for Pakistan’s Future