THE story has been repeated ad nauseam over the decades, but is still a favourite with many Pakistanis who bemoan their country’s failure to join the ranks of the Asian Tigers. During the Ayub Khan days, it is said, and not without basis, that a South Korean delegation came to Pakistan to study this country’s economic progress and find out why its Five-Year Plan had been such a success. Ayub was development-oriented — and lucky, because in those days when communism was anathema to the US, the American criterion for economic and military support depended on whether one was with the ‘free world’ or with the Reds. For the Americans, human rights and democracy were non-issues. If a country chose the ‘free world’, Western coffers were open for it, even if its ruler was a tyrant. Ayub can be categorised as one. His era saw democracy being stifled and political opposition being suppressed. Moreover, the unequal economic focus on the two wings of the country during his time paved the way for the secession of the east wing. Nevertheless, he did lay the foundations of Pakistan’s industrialisation. Foreign investment flowed in, and tourists came in droves. Pakistan had some symbols of progress to show the world — for instance, PIA became the first ‘free world’ airline to begin flights to China.

Since the end of that era, uninterrupted periods of economic growth have been scarce. While democracy has taken sturdy strides overcoming one military dictator after another, terrorism and poor governance have left their mark. Many countries that were once backward have become ‘tigers’. South Korea’s progress has been impressive. American money and technology flooded South Korea, and the Koreans utilised it well. Today, with the South Korean prime minister in Pakistan, the two countries cannot be compared in terms of economic growth. South Korea is the world’s 12th biggest economy with a per capita GDP of $33,200, and 98pc literacy. Pakistan’s per capita GDP is $3,100 and it has a despicably low 55pc literacy rate.