Pakistan, which is already facing a serious economic crisis at the global level, has received another major international blow from the World Bank. The World Bank has made a major change in its regional classification and completely removed Pakistan from the 'South Asia' list. According to this new restructuring, the list of South Asian countries now includes India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives. On the other hand, Pakistan has been placed in the new grouping of Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAAP) along with Afghanistan. This decision has created a lot of stir in the political and economic circles of Pakistan and an atmosphere of anger is being seen among the citizens.
Pakistan removed from 'South Asia' list, India's dominance
After this entire incident came to light, Pakistan's well-known journalist Shahbaz Rana told the story behind it in his special analytical program on 'Express TV'. According to him, World Bank President Ajay Banga is of Indian origin and his plan was to build the South Asia Regional Office of the World Bank in New Delhi. Given the deteriorating diplomatic relations and tensions between India and Pakistan, if this office were to be built in India, Pakistani officials would have to come to New Delhi continuously, which would create serious problems related to visa and security.
Big mistake of Pakistani administration and internal resentment
To avoid these potential difficulties and political complications, the Pakistani government tacitly agreed to this restructuring of the World Bank. However, this decision taken by Pakistan is troubling them and now there is strong opposition and criticism there. According to Pakistani experts, Pakistan's approval of this decision was a big strategic mistake. Due to India-Pakistan tension, Pakistan has lost its geographical and strategic place in South Asia to avoid coming on the same regional platform with India.
According to analysts, regional classification is not just a paper document, but it has a direct impact on global development funds, fund allocation and policy decisions. Till now, Pakistan was compared with developing economies like India and Bangladesh, where issues of agriculture and social development were similar. However, now that Pakistan has been included in the MENAAP group, it will be directly compared with oil-rich superpower countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.
MENAAP GROUP'S TRUTH: A SCARY PICTURE OF POVERTY
According to the World Bank's latest economic report, poverty in the MENAAP region has reached pre-COVID levels and continues to increase. The most important thing is that almost half of the total very poor population of the entire MENAAP region lives in Pakistan alone. Pakistan's economic condition is more clearly visible at the global level by being placed in the group of high-income countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE.
The World Bank had removed Pakistan from South Asia and included it in the Middle East and North Africa region because of India. What benefits did Pakistan get from joining the Middle East region? The economic sector of Pakistan changed with the government's consent.
— Shahbaz Rana (@81ShahbazRana) October 9, 2026
Although Pakistani government officials have claimed that this change will not have any adverse impact on the country's geographical identity or direct income status, but experts say that this is a major diplomatic defeat for Pakistan. India's growing influence as the largest economy in South Asia and its place in the World Bank clearly shows that Pakistan is being pushed back from the regional equation.
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