Slow Development.

The meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Foreign Funded Projects (NCC-FFP) highlighted the dismal state of affairs when it comes to development in Pakistan. 43 percent of $35 billion worth of foreign-funded projects were classified to be problematic because they were either left incomplete or did not deliver the outcomes desired. Given the ordeal that comes with domestic developmental projects as well, this was no surprise. However, one would expect the government to be a little more proactive when external parties are involved.

The meeting highlighted the serious issue of chronic delays and the failure of successive governments to trace important milestones for each project. In fact, some projects have not even taken off and remain in the planning phase due to either the inability to procure funding or clear out payments to the countless contractors employed. For projects in which construction has begun, monitoring progress is a responsibility often neglected. For instance, in the past seven years, only three CPEC projects have been completed. Over a dozen schemes worth $2 billion remain unfinished because of the government's failure to clear billions of dues to contractors. Ventures like installing transmission lines, upgrading hospitals, and creating university campuses in Gwadar remain to be ideas right now, not potential realities.

Similarly, the...