Editorial: Neighbour in trouble

Despite a deepening economic crisis, political parties in Pakistan are in no mood to pause their ongoing war

Hyderabad: Pakistan is in the throes of multiple crises; a bankrupt economy, spurt in terrorism, social tensions and an intensifying political conflict. A deepening economic crisis has all but emptied the country’s foreign exchange reserves, leaving it barely enough dollars to cover even one month’s worth of imports after the recent devastating floods wiped out harvests and it is struggling to service sky-high levels of foreign debt. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif summed up the situation succinctly when he said that Pakistan has already defaulted and gone bankrupt. He went on to blame all three wings — the establishment, which means the all-powerful military, bureaucracy and politicians — for the current economic crisis. Prolonged negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bail-out package have failed, pushing the country into an abyss of uncertainty. Islamabad is trying hard for the package — the last tranche of $1.1 billion out of a $6.5-billion loan programme sanctioned in July 2019 — to resolve the debt crisis. The loan is critical for Pakistan’s economy as the inflation has soared to over 27%, the highest since 1975, the rupee sank to a historic low of 275 against the US dollar, more than 60% of the industries have shut and power outages and a severe shortage of essential commodities have accentuated the miseries of common people. Currently, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are just above $3 billion, hardly enough for 10-15 days of imports. The developments highlight the unfortunate reality that structural weaknesses of the economy and polity are inflicting pain on ordinary citizens while the political and military establishment continue to bicker over control.

On the internal security front, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which pulled out of the ceasefire with the government late last year, has stepped up attacks on civilians and security forces. The situation in the restive provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan appears to be spinning out of control. Besides, the relations with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan are steadily deteriorating. The new rulers in Kabul, once proteges of ISI, are refusing to toe Pakistan’s line now and have shown no inclination to rein in the TTP or oust it from its sanctuaries on Afghan soil. Unfortunately, the political parties are in no mood to pause their ongoing war to collectively find solutions to the country’s multiple crises. Instead, recent developments have plunged politics into a more volatile and confused state. Uncertainty rules as politics gets messier. While the opposition leader Imran Khan, waiting to take revenge for being ousted from power prematurely, has been insisting on an early national election, the Shehbaz Sharif government has stuck to its guns and asserted that the polls would only be held once Parliament completes its full term in August this year. It is clear that the warring parties have a disconnect with reality.

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