Here's an excerpt of an Express Tribune blog on Musharraf's accomplishments:
1. Nine world class engineering universities were developed and 18 public universities further developed.
2. Pakistan was ranked third in world banking profitability.
3. The IT industry was valued at around $2 billion, including $1 billion in exports and employed around 90,000 professionals.
4. The CNG sector attracted over $70 billion in investment in the past five years and created 45,000 jobs.
5. The telecommunications sector attracted around $10 billion in investments and created over 1.3 million jobs.
6. Industrial parks were set up throughout the country for the first time.
7. Mega projects such as the Saindak, Rekodiq, marble production, coal production, mining and quarrying were pursued.
8. Foreign reserves increased from $700 million to $17 billion.
9. The Karachi stock market went from 700 points to 15,000 points.
10. The literacy rate improved by 11 per cent.
11. Poverty decreased by 10 per cent.
12. Four dams were built: Mirani, Subakzai, Gomalzam, Khurram, and Tangi,
13. Seven motorways were completed or were under construction,
14. Gwadar, an advanced sea port, was developed,
15. 650 kilometres of coastal highways were constructed.
16. A historic 100% increase in tax collection (amounting to Rs1 trillion) was observed.
17. Large scale manufacturing was at a 30-year high, and construction at a 17-year high.
18. Copper and gold deposits were found in Chagai, worth about $600 million annually if sold.
19. A new oil refinery with the UAE that could process 300,000 oil barrels a day was established.
20. The industrial sector registered 26 per cent growth.
21. The economy was the third fastest growing economy after China and India .
22. The Institute of Space Technology was established.
23. Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University Quetta was established.
24. The University of Science and Technology, Bannu, was established.
25. The University of Hazara was founded.
26. The Malakand University in Chakdara was established.
27. The University of Gujrat was established
28. The Virtual University of Pakistan was established
29. Sarhad University of IT in Peshawar was established
30. The National Law University in Islamabad was established
31. The Media University in Islamabad was established
32. University of Education in Lahore was established
33. Lasbela University of Marine Sciences, Baluchistan, was established
34. Baluchistan University of IT & Management, Quetta (2002)
35. The Pakistan economy was worth $ 160 billion in 2007
36. GDP Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) was $ 475.5 billion in 2007
37. The GDP per Capita in 2007 was $ 1000
38. Revenue collection in 2007/08 was Rs1.002 billion
39. Exports in 2007were worth $18.5 billion
40. Textile exports in 2007 were worth $11.2 billion
41. Foreign direct investment in 2007 was $8.5 billion
42. Debt servicing in 2007 was 26 per cent of the GDP
43. The poverty level in 2007 was 24 per cent
44. The literacy rate in 2007 was 53 per cent
45. Pakistan development programs in 2007 were valued at Rs520 billion
46. The Karachi stock exchange in 2007 was $70 billion at 15,000 points
47. Exports in 2007: $18.5 billion
48. Pakistan now has a total of 245,682 educational institutions in all categories, including 164,579 in the public sector and 81,103 in the private sector, according to the National Education Census (NEC-2005).
49. There are now more than 5,000 Pakistanis doing PhDs in foreign countries on scholarship. 300 Pakistanis receive PhD degrees every year, in 1999, the number was just 20.
50. In total, 99,319 educational institutions increased in Musharrafs era!
50 reasons Pakistan needs Musharraf – The Express Tribune Blog
Here's an excerpt of a Express Tribune blog on Musharraf period:
Even if I try to use sasti (insubstantial) Pakistani political arguments, I cannot refute the fact that during the Commando’s era, economic conditions were much, much better. The economy, in general, was doing great; there were more jobs and businesses were recording higher profits.
“I remember the Musharraf period was great in terms of business and political peace; we were hiring extensively as compared to now. Actually, not only us, the software industry, were hiring, but job-seeking graduates were more comfortable at that time about getting jobs as compared to now. That’s my observation”, Salim Ghauri, chairman and CEO at NetSol Technologies told me in a brief conversation.
According to the reports by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan was the third fastest growing economy after China and India during that era.
In 2002, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) was declared the “Best Performing Stock Market of the World for the year 2002”.
Our industrial sector registered 26.5% growth on average. Manufacturing and construction sectors recorded a 30 year and 17 year high, respectively. The highest increase in tax collection of around Rs1trillion was injected in government revenues.
Amazingly, Pakistan railway was making profits. Other indicators include a drastic decrease in poverty. CNG fuel, information technology and especially the telecommunication sectors registered massive growths, and the dollar was just at Rs60.
Musharraf even played a significant role in transforming the infrastructure of this country. Four dams (Subakzai, Gomalzam, Khurram and Tangi) were constructed during his period.
He initiated the plans to work on seven motorways in different areas of Pakistan; some were completed during his period and others remained under construction. Advanced Gawadar port, Kachi Canal Project, Lyari Expressway and a 650km long coastal highway are also among the many achievements of Musharraf’s period.
Pervez Musharraf can also be hailed as the liberator of the media; being a dictator, he was the only one who seemed confident enough of himself and his countrymen to have given Pakistani’s the freedom of speech as well. He took major steps to empower the Pakistani women in our local and national assemblies and his aggressive education policy contributed to major positive riffles in Pakistan’s education system; our literacy rate improved by 11% during his period.
Nine well equipped engineering universities and 18 public universities, all over Pakistan irrespective of ethnic orientations, were made during his time. Several technical colleges and institutions also spurted during his reign.
Pakistan’s launched its first satellite, Paksat-1, in his time – Musharraf made it happen. His remarkable words cannot be forgotten:
“Pakistan’s space programme is now ahead of India after the formal launching of Paksat-1 and this is due to the hard work of our scientists, and I am sure Indians would take another 30 months to do the job.”
It was during his time that after years, the issue of Jammu and Kashmir was on the front table for talks.
In spite of all these accomplishments that he brought to our economy, unfortunately he simultaneously took some bad decisions, too, that wiped out all the credit that we owe him. Some people still blame him for the current political and social turmoil.
Is it more likely that though Pervez Musharraf did well for the economy in his tenure he simultaneously created some negative externalities too?
http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/16706/pervez-musharraf-deserves-a-second-chance-our-economy-needs-him/
