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There are several institutions and policymakers in Islamabad who still view economic activity from a commanding height. One of them, the Engineering Development Board, took its last breath in June when the Prime Minister struck it off and dissolved it. Established in 1995, EDB's objectives were to strengthen engineering sector, promote exports, increase technical training and enable import substitution which was later termed as deletion policy. In 2004 another autonomous organization, the Experts Advisory Cell, established in 1979, was merged into EDB. A quick look at these objectives and a bird's-eye view of Pakistan's industry today point to a foregone conclusion: none of the objectives associated with EDB or EAC was achieved. In the name of industrial development, the EDB actually played a role in curtailing industrialization by imposing restrictions on import of several products, parts and raw materials. The now defunct EDB used to have "Input-Output Coefficient Office". This office collected data on the inputs required by hundreds of manufacturing firms, rationed it, issued a permissible wastage level for thousands of products and thus defined a level of desired output. The Engineering Development Board defined ideal 'waste...