Pakistan is the ‘most difficult’ country to do business. ‘Hounded & harassed,’ people say

According to a survey, several problems are faced by entrepreneurs, chief among which were the complicated tax system (46%), access to loans (19%) and corruption (12%).

New Delhi: A national survey in Pakistan on ease of doing business in the country has produced depressing results. About 91 per cent of those surveyed described it as “most difficult”.

The National Citizen Survey findings, conducted by the Islamabad-based Institute for Public Opinion Research, were based on responses from more than 5,000 people across Pakistan.

The survey identified several problems faced by entrepreneurs, chief among which was the complicated tax system (46 per cent), followed by access to loans or financial resources (19 per cent) and corruption and bribery (12 per cent).

Businessmen also called for additional protections for their respective ventures, with 76 per cent of respondents saying new legislation was needed to protect them.

Rising electricity and energy costs accounted for 10 per cent, followed by government regulations at 7 per cent and political instability at 2 per cent.

The survey also captured wider anxiety about the economy. At least 66 per cent of respondents expressed concern about Pakistan’s growing debt burden. Asked about the International Monetary Fund’s programme, 30 per cent described it as harmful, 19 per cent as beneficial and 38 per cent said it provided no benefit to ordinary people.

For analysts and economists, the problem extends beyond individual taxes or regulations.

Zakaullah Warraich, a Pakistani political analyst, argued on X that the country’s governance system remains shaped by institutions originally designed for control and extraction rather than economic development.

“The development and prosperity of people is not the goal here at all. If people become prosperous, then who will the narrow-minded elite here exploit?”, he wrote on X.