Is Pakistan’s economic collapse imminent?
Pakistan’s economy is in grave danger, but instead of focusing on finding a solution, the Islamic Republic’s lawmakers are engaged in a power struggle over who will lead the nation, according to DW news.
Since the resignation of the previous prime minister, Imran Khan, in April of last year, Pakistan has been experiencing a severe political and constitutional crisis. After being ousted from office by a no-confidence vote in parliament, Khan accused the US of orchestrating Pakistan’s “regime change” and pursued a confrontational strategy with the nation’s current leadership and powerful military generals.
“The country’s economic situation is a big mess, and we have run out of money. Holding general elections is a costly affair, and I think Pakistan can’t afford it right now,” Zia Rehman, an investigative journalist and political analyst, told DW.
Some political observers in Pakistan are of the view that the biggest hindrance to a national dialogue is former premier Khan, whom critics accuse of being “inflexible.”
When asked that “Does Pakistan have a future?” a shopkeeper said that “I don’t know what is happening in this country. We can’t afford a proper meal, yet our politicians seem totally unconcerned about our plight,”DW reported.
Long car queues outside gas stations can be seen in Pakistan’s major cities and its economic hub Karachi.
As there is a major shortage of fuel so majority population cannot afford it and whatever gas is available is extremely costly. There is no gas to cook a meal in households or to run small factories, and power outages are so frequent that they have crippled the economy.
“The recent power outage paralyzed our lives. We were unable to do our daily chores. It felt like were living in the stone age,” Mrs Waseem, a housewife, told DW in Karachi.
However, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s government is now facing the difficult task to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF)to renew its loan for the country to avoid a default the DW news report claimed.
“The IMF loan will aid in improving the payment balance. The trance will also spark a wave of inflation that could reach up to 40–50% at the same moment. The most affected group will be those who live below the poverty line, which comprises about 30 to 40 percent of the population “Shah later on.
His top demand is that early elections be held in order to address the political crisis, despite the fact that the country’s economists argue that the economy must first be fixed. In the report, a different senior Ghazi Salahuddin was cited “Khan views politics as a competitive sport in which the only goal is to outperform the opponent at any costs. This is not how politics operates. Politicians must communicate with everyone, including their adversaries.”
