Written by: Shobhana AhluwaliaPakistan has been stricken by a lack of money and its ailing economy has produced a crisis of gigantic proportions within the country. The Financial Express reports in its issue of 3 March 2023, “Amid an ongoing economic crisis, Pakistans external debt and liabilities have reached almost $130 billion__95.39 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP).” In other words, Pakistan is borrowing more than it can repay and is spending more than it can ever earn.The economic crisis within the country is marked by a very high rate of inflation causing much suffering to the common man. Food inflation coupled with exorbitant petrol prices has made life very difficult for the people of Pakistan. The military has also not remained inviolate from the crisis and has been forced to retrench in many spheres. Food supply to soldiers has been reduced, salaries have been cut and no new defence deals are being considered due to scarcity of funds.The overall grim scenario is present even in hospitals. NDTV reports in its World News section on 26 February 2023 that hospitals in Pakistan are running out of essential medicines such as insulin and disprin and doctors are unable to undertake vital surgeries due to the lack of medical equipment. The state of affairs in Pakistan is reminiscent of a war zone.Having sought external assistance, Pakistan was to be rescued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which proposed a series of austerity measures and required the nation to tighten its belt. However, negotiations have been mired in problematic issues and talks have come to a standstill.Pakistans economic future remains uncertain as the country continues to battle possible bankruptcy.The economic crisis in Pakistan has provided the backdrop to a political drama which has also created a crisis in the political sphere. The political crisis has been caused by a sudden change in governance. In 2022 this occurred when the various opposition parties engineered a coup to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan. The parties basically formed an alliance and passed a no-confidence motion against Khans government in the National Assembly (Wikipedia). The subsequent toppling of Imran Khan led to chaos and a major political crisis.The ouster of Imran Khan is attributed by The Outlook in its issue of 30 August 2022 to his lack of popularity since he was perceived as a stooge of the military rather than a democratically elected leader. His party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was unable to retain the confidence of the parliament and was removed from power.As the economic crisis in Pakistan was caused by a lack of funds, so also is the political crisis caused by the absence of strong leadership. Imran Khan was replaced by Shahbaz Sharif as the new prime minister, but Sharif was unable to fully establish control over the country in the political turmoil that followed Khans exit from the government.The political turmoil in Pakistan in the wake of Imran Khans departure from the seat of government was characterised by nationwide protests and rallies that served to destabilise the country leading to a mammoth political crisis. Imran Khan was recently accused of inciting hatred through his speeches and was charged under anti-terror laws. But the bid to arrest him failed causing as it did further unrest and even violence in the country. In some respects, Khan is thus the architect of the political crisis and with his strong following among the youth and enjoying the confidence of the military as he does, he remains the sole leader capable of unifying the country and leading it out of the current political chaos.The views written are those of the author and the publisher may or may not necessarily agree with them.
