Could the Airlink model be Pakistan’s Shining City on a Hill?

You either believe in the free market or you don’t. And no, we are not referring to free market ‘types’ whose lives are dictated by stock prices, cryptocurrency, and whatever it is that characters like Elon Musk are doing on any particular day. We mean you either believe a free-market economy is the best way to promote the growth and well-being of a people or you don’t. 

This is an economic system defined by low taxes, few capital restrictions, and even fewer barriers to entry. And without an economy to micromanage, a government should ideally have the time to complement this environment through reasonable social services like housing, healthcare, and, perhaps most importantly, education. 

At Profit, our reporting is often greatly informed by this belief. By all indications, the raw ingredients for a successful and thriving economy exist in Pakistan. We have a young population with rising literacy and sufficient domestic savings, that is a domestic banking sector large enough to result in relatively lower costs of capital. But unlike the model we have discussed above, in Pakistan, the government is less a helping hand and more a mountainous road-block made worse by constant political instability. 

Read more: The bull case for Pakistan

Despite this, the signs are clear if you take a closer look at some of the companies that have emerged in the past couple of decades. Case in point: Airlink.