The IMF disease is eating away at our daily bread Pakistan's economy has paid a huge price by joining hands with the United States in the war against terrorism. According to a recently released IMF report titled "Pakistan Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper", the total losses, measured in terms of exports, foreign investment, industrial production and tax collection, are estimated at about 2.08 trillion rupees in the last five years. The war on terrorism has unbalanced the government's already strained financial resources, as a result development projects have been cut, leading to increased poverty and unemployment. The nation suffered a loss of Rs 259 billion in FY 2005 and in FY 2009 it reached over Rs 650 billion, indicating more than 100% increase in losses. The report said that the 2007/08 financial year was a bad year for the economy as several unexpected political and economic events occurred. The economic boom period began in 2001/02 and broke out in 2006/07. During the boom period, the economy recorded several macroeconomic achievements. Its size doubled with an annual GDP growth rate peaking at 7%, inflation was kept under control incredibly well during the boom, the debt burden was halved, foreign exchange reserves were sufficient to cover 6 months of imports, according to the ranking of the Pakistan Stock Exchange. among the best performing emerging markets, and FDI represented 6% of GDP. Given the brighter economic outlook, Pakistan successfully launched sovereign bonds with maturities ranging from 5 to 30 years and these were oversubscribed in the international capital market, reflecting the strong confidence of foreign investors . The above achievements were recorded when the IMF was in Pakistan. and the country was free t...... middle of paper ......addressed immediately are; improvement of the security situation and economic governance. The government is short of choices as on one hand it has to meet the harsh IMF conditionalities and on the other it has to save the economy from total collapse - balancing the two wheels is rather a difficult job for economic managers of the country. The difficult conditions of the IMF at present do not do the economy any good, on the contrary, they have instead added to the frustration of common men. What Pakistan needs now is growth that is not only demand-led but also employment-oriented, which will help raise consumer incomes and standards of living of the average Pakistani. But with high interest rates, the poor security situation and the IMF's carrot-and-stick game, this task is unlikely to be accomplished. Growth will therefore remain moderate in the near future.