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Pakistan economy grew 7 percent in 2006-07, government says The Associated Press Published: June 8, 2007 E-Mail Article Listen to Article Printer-Friendly 3-Column Format Translate Share Article Text Size

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan's economy grew by 7 percent in the current fiscal year, the government said Friday, underlining how the country has emerged as one of Asia's most vibrant economies. Growth in the year through June, projected on preliminary data, accelerated to 7 percent from 6.6 percent in the previous 12 months, according to figures in the government's annual economic survey. The survey said the boom was broad-based, including a record wheat harvest, strong consumer spending and rising investment — including from abroad. "This is a very strong growth performance," Salman Shah, the government's top economic adviser, told a news conference where he presented the survey. "There is expansion in every sector." Strong economic growth is one of the proudest accomplishments of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, whose 1999 coup ushered in a period of relative political stability.

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The general is evoking that success regularly as he prepares to seek a new five-year term this fall, despite growing opposition to his continued rule. The survey said the economy's performance in 2006-07 kept the average economic growth rate for the last five years at close to 7 percent and bodes well that it can be maintained. Deregulation and privatization have created jobs for better-educated Pakistanis, swelling the ranks of an increasingly affluent middle class and reducing poverty. However, critics say the boom has done little for the vast majority of Pakistan's mostly poor, rural population of about 160 million, who also bear the brunt of higher prices. Inflation in the current year came in at 7.9 percent, above the government's 6.5 percent target. Food inflation was 10.2 percent — a pace that has prompted the government to promise extra subsidies.