Pakistan Economy Booms Despite Looming Threats

Gleaming glass and steel mobile phone company offices have sprung up beside run-down tenements in the major cities. A new smart set splashes out its growing income in swanky restaurants and boutiques. The boom is helping to expand the middle class, who are buying cars, houses, refrigerators and air-conditioners through liberalized consumer financing, extended at low interest rates by Pakistani banks, planners say. What’s more, the government’s figures appear to back up the claims. It has predicted seven percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the coming year.