In 1965, a report in New York Times said "The success story of Pakistan, its growth since independence is second only to America in all of the nations in the post WWII era." In 1965, Pakistan's exports were more than Indonesia, Maldives, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bhutan and South Korea combined. Experts from South Korea used to come to Pakistan to witness and understand the Green Revolution in Pakistan so that they could replicate this in their region.
Pakistan is 25th biggest economy by size of its GDP, 3rd largest producer of milk, 9th largest producer of wheat and one of the few developing countries to have a per capita income in excess of $1,000. In terms of acreage, Pakistan is the 5th largest producer of Sugarcane. It once had 12% global textile market share in 1970s and its exports were once more than several East Asian economies combined. It is home to a Nobel laureate, designer of Human Development Index (HDI), one of the three Muslim Royal Science Society Fellow and has talent that works in Central America, Middle East & Europe.
Dr. Abdul Salam, from a backward region came and won the Nobel Prize. Roshan Khan said once, just the night before playing World Squash Championship, I was wandering on street because I could not afford the hotel in 1960s. He went on to win that. Jan Sher and Jahangir had record winning streak in Squash for decades. Muhammad Yousuf used to play