In capital-starved Pakistan, the business community should command a greater say in choice of policy and political direction because of its critical role in the economy.

If this is not the case, must the private sector not shoulder some of the blame?

“The dismissal of the private sector’s views has not helped. The loss of confidence of the capital owning strata deprives the country of access to private resources and skills, as investors head abroad in search of business-friendly places”, said a business leader.

How can the elite community exert its influence? Has the private sector of Pakistan amassed the size and maturity to assume the position? The business community can serve the cause of the country best by articulating an agenda that resonates with the interests of people and focus on doing something that they are expected to do efficiently: business.

By pledging resources for socially desirable and economically viable projects, the private sector can earn both profit and influence.

For too long this community has been reluctant to trust the country and its future. Their investment in quick return options of trade all through the 2000s enriched some but impoverished the country.

If the wider public learns how rich Pakistanis burned billions in the Dubai property crash, when the industrial base in the country desperately needed investment, the image of the community may be irreparably compromised.

Blaming the government for a hostile business environment can not absolve them of not being able to build on the country’s natural resource base and narrow down energy, water, transport and multiple other deficits.

They could have invested where the government was lagging.

“Sadly, despite spectacular successes, Pakistani businesses have always been risk averse, reluctant to tie their capital into big industrial projects”

In a populous country like Pakistan, which has an ever-expanding middle class and consumer market, companies could have focused on scale instead of margins and fared better. There are exceptions, but generally the haste to amass wealth compromised the vision of Pakistani tycoons.

The anecdotal evidence suggests that the declared net worth of these businessmen run in hundreds of billions of rupees. The value of their collective asset base should be in the trillions.

The sense that one gets talking to business leaders is the community is of discomfort with the current confrontational politics, which, it believes, distracts the government’s attention from the economy and internal security challenges.

The community no longer detests democratic order as it did earlier.

Their newfound support for the democratic project in Pakistan, however, is not based on their respect for people or politics, but on the value of global public opinion for their business. The trade-savvy businessmen value world opinion because of its economic ramifications.

“Businesses took the brunt of economic sanctions post-1988 period. The competition is already crippling and the attitude towards Pakistan not particularly warm. Any deviation from accepted global norms will push us out of international trade altogether”, said a leader, making a business case for the preservation of democratic order.

“If some sections in the establishment believe a direct rule is viable with Chinese support, they are mistaken. China would not prefer a restive country to host CPEC”, he added.

Another leader boasted of the resilience and efficiency of his community in the challenging local environment of high input costs and often hostile government policies.

“The tumultuous political history and modest growth rate over the past seven decades did not stop the corporate sector from multiplying their fortunes many times over. They are all set to be a part of a CPEC driven wave of investment in the country”, he said.

“The low saving and investment rate has been the bane of Pakistan’s economy since the country’s creation.

“Sadly, despite spectacular successes, Pakistani businesses have always been risk averse, reluctant to tie their capital into big industrial projects”, commented an economist from Islamabad working for the government.

To assume a position of influence in the country’s affairs, the private sector will need to break free of the old mindset, dream big, get efficient, shed myopic attitudes and social apathy, adopt global standards and keep up with technological advancement.

Leaning on the government, exploitation of workers and opting only for risk free avenues will retard business potential and compromise their status in the public eye.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, August 14th, 2017