Pakistan's Debt Woes: Decades of Federal Fiscal Mismanagement, Not Provinces, Mainly to Blame

Pakistan's debt crisis did not begin with the NFC award in 2010; it started much earlier and for other reasons
The real culprits are the failure to expand tax collection, uncontrolled spending by the federal government, and excessive borrowing since 2018
Provinces' spending and NFC transfers are not the main reasons for the debt explosion and fiscal troubles
The federal government failed for decades to tax major sectors like agriculture, real estate and retail/wholesale
Solutions lie in radical spending cuts, urgent debt restructuring and building credibility with foreign investors