NEXT to the World Bank’s forecast on economic expansion in Pakistan during the present fiscal year, the State Bank’s growth projections in its flagship State of Pakistan’s Economy report for the first quarter of FY2021 will appear far too optimistic. While the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects 2021 says Pakistan’s economy will grow by a 0.5pc this fiscal, the SBP believes that it could expand by up to 2pc in line with the target set by the government in its budget. The central bank has tried to tamper its estimate by cautioning that the recovery faces downside risks owing to “intensification of the second wave of the pandemic”. Still, it may appear to many as the SBP’s desire to avoid stepping on the toes of the government, which is trying to sell the recent improvement in short-term economic trends to the people as a success of its policies.