Some countries that basked in petrodollar glory and never thought of diversification of their wealth to sustain their economies in case the petrodollar stopped flowing in are now running deficit budgets with the deficit nearing the 20% mark of their GDP.

These countries were befriended by all and sundry some years ago.The Super powers and the economic giants of the recent past use to fall over each other to befriend those countries.Not that they still don’t but surely to a much lesser degree.

During that period of the past few decades which was the golden era of the petrodollar a poor and underdeveloped Pakistan was always scorned and bullied by all and put to use as a client state whenever needed due to its geo-strategic location.

The aforementioned petrodollar countries kept enjoying the petrodollar as if it would never decline till eternity and didn’t think of diversifying to sustain their future economic situation. Pakistan, on the other hand, kept building itself modestly despite inherent corruption and other short comings like political leadership, military interventions, wars, calamities and much more.

Today, the petrodollar countries are beginning to realize the crisis that they are heading towards. Meanwhile, Pakistan, through the years, has become an established democracy with a robust political,judicial,military,bureaucratic and civil society structure and all of it with a huge level of freedom of speech and association. Pakistan has developed a colossal infrastructure,is the world’s 7th nuclear military power, a major economic corridor linking the whole region is almost operational through the port of Gawadar with China as a partner in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC). Besides all that, Pakistan today manufactures fighter aircraft, builds submarines and small war ships, and the power generation is seeing a colossal upsurge. Oil and gas exploration is on the increase with substantial finds in different parts of the country. Lots more too.

In the present fast changing world while the petrodollar countries which did not diversify its wealth and go into industrialization etc are beginning to get relegated in international significance the poor underdeveloped Pakistan of a few years back that was worrying about its existence is solidifying and gaining in international significance by the day.

A resurgent and significantly strong and influential Pakistan of the foreseeable future is not something I am talking about but, in fact, analysts across the globe are painting a great picture of Pakistan’s future.

Those Pakistanis who still say things like Pakistan is lagging and is going to collapse under this or that burden are actually motivated people,for one or another reason.

Pakistan is now a resurgent Pakistan and all the indicators point towards a bright future. It wants peace within and in the region so as to be able to develop faster. But that is a desire Pakistan will have to strive for and hope the neighbors too realize how important peace is for them and all the regional countries. Let’s hope South Asia and the world becomes peaceful for all of humanity to prosper together.