trade and investment in East Pakistan were in fact reinvested in West Pakistan due to great attractiveness of the region.
Benefit
He did not agree with the declaration of the Planning Commission that East Pakistan would be ultimately benefited from prosperity in West Wing. He said there was no real evidence to think that East Pakistan will ultimately receive direct benefit from investments being made in West Pakistan.
Monopoly
Giving reasons for West Pakistan's industrialization Professor Sobhan said that policy of giving import licenses to West Pakistani businessmen had created an artificial monopoly and had enabled them to accumulate fortunes within a very short period. These fortunes here invested by them mainly are textile industry and willingness of the Government to sanction mills in West Pakistan played an important part too. He categorically stated that had the government at that stage insisted that 50 percent of all textile mills should be in East Pakistan economic picture today would have been different, similarly, when Government planned its own investments targets it also turned to West Pakistan.
He assented that the second five year plan existence of regional economic imbalance had been acknowledged, but in its investment targets only Rs. 950 crore was allocated to East Pakistan as agreement Rs. 1,350 crore to the West Wing. In addition to this amount of Rs. 500 crore was to be spent in West Pakistan for replacement works and Rs. 517, crore for anti-water logging and salinity campaign.
He said, as the country moved into second plan disparity between two wings will be seriously accentuated.
He also stressed that allocation of foreign aid had also acted as a factor in widening the gap between the two wings as the bulk of the aid allocation had been in West Pakistan and tendency was likely to continue due to need to keep on-going projects.
