Efforts have been made to boost Pakistan's economy since partition. Considerable progress was made between 1995 and 1970 when the government controlled only a few sectors of the economy. The rest of the economy was managed by private enterprise. In the 1970s, Nationalization became the favored policy of the government.
The major industries and banks were nationalized. As the results of this nationalization were far from satisfactory, further nationalization was put on hold from 1977-8 to 1990. The economy continued to function in much the same way, Although the economy was revived to a certain extent, no major breakthroughs were achieved.
Since the 1990s, the government has dropped the policy of nationalization in favor of privatization, deregulation and disinvestment. However, progress in this direction has been slow, there is a slump in the economy. the unemployment and inflation rates have reached unacceptable levels, and prices are rising. The country is passing through a period of severe economic hardship despite comprehensive economic planning and international assistance.