Political Mayhem, Plunging Rupee & Rising Terror: Explaining Pakistan's Misery in 10 Points

The spiralling economic crisis in Pakistan accentuated by the political mayhem has pushed India’s neighbour into a mess, relief from which seems far-fetched for now.

On Thursday, the Pakistan government imposed a ban on the import of all non-essential luxury items like cars, mobile phones, home appliances, and weapons under an “emergency economic plan”. Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed the ban shortly after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to Twitter to announce the decision, saying the move would “save the country precious foreign exchange”.

Citing an “emergency situation”, the minister said Pakistanis will have to make sacrifices under the economic plan, and that the impact of the banned items would be around $6 billion.

On the security front, China has demanded military outposts for the security of its citizens working in the country amid recent terror attacks on Chinese nationals and Belt and Road Initiative’s (BRI) China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in Karachi, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, sources told CNN-News18.

News18 breaks down in 10 points what’s ailing Pakistan:

1. Political mayhem: In the last 40 days, no decision has been taken by PM Shehbaz Sharif about major issues. The status of any state capital is considered holy when it comes to state decisions and policy-making processes but under the current government, the status of Islamabad is reduced to a mere administrative center while London has become the political capital of Pakistan.
2. The government is in limbo about support from the establishment. An Important meeting of the prime minister and the chief of army staff is underway. There are now just two alternatives before the government: Either dissolve the cabinet or take “difficult Decisions”.
3. Dollar giving sleepless nights: Since the PTI-led government was ousted through a vote of no-confidence on April 10, the dollar was valued at Rs182.93. From then onwards, the rupee has lost Rs 15.46 or 8.45% of its value. Foreign exchange reserves held by Pakistan’s central bank decreased another $190 million to $10.31 billion last week, lowest since June 2020, with the level staying at less than 1.5 months of import cover. The current account deficit has already ballooned to $13.2 billion in nine months of the current fiscal year and it is estimated to widen to $17 billion to $18 billion by the end of the year if no corrective measures are taken.
4. Punjab Cabinet not Formed: Formation of a new provincial cabinet after Hamza Shehbaz was sworn in as chief minister of Punjab on April 30 this year is delayed till the removal of incumbent Governor Omar Sarfaraz Cheema.
5. SC order about Dissidents: The Supreme Court, in a major decision on Tuesday, ruled that the dissident members of a parliamentary party cannot cast votes against their party’s directives. The court also restrained executive authorities from the transfer and postings of officers in investigation and prosecution branches in high-profile corruption cases as it started suo moto proceedings over the matter.
6. Terror on the rise: In Karachi, there have been at least three blasts in less than a month. On April 26, a suicide attack in Karachi University had claimed the lives of three Chinese teachers. On May 12, an IED blast ripped through the busy Saddar area, killing a passer-by and injuring several others. A number of vehicles were damaged as well. On May 15, two members of the Sikh community were shot dead by terrorists in Peshawar. On May 16, a woman died and at least a dozen people sustained injuries as a result of an IED attack near Bolton Market in the Kharadar area. On May 18, the spokesperson of the Balochistan government, Farah Azeem Shah, said a woman namely Noor Jehan was arrested along with an alleged member of the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) Majeed Brigade during a raid in Turbat.
7. Energy Crisis: Power outages continue in various parts of the country, with some urban areas not having electricity for six to eight hours and rural regions facing outages for 10-12 hours. The power shortfall in the country has exceeded 5,000 MW, which has led to the long hours of load shedding.
8. Constitutional Crisis: President Arif Alvi has refused two summaries of the prime minister to remove the Punjab Governor, while the Sindh and Balochistan governors have resigned from their posts. The Cabinet blames Alvi for subverting the Constitution. The PML-N-led government in Pakistan has announced plans to impeach Alvi, who has recently emerged as a major obstacle to the smooth sailing of the new government and blocked Pak Punjab Chief Minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz Sharif’s oath-taking among other things.
9. Criminal charges: 60 per cent of the current government ministers are either on bail or have some criminal charges but are still sitting in the cabinet.
10. Split in army: There is a major chasm between army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa, who is set to retire this year, and the lobby of former ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed. Lt General Faiz Hameed served as the ISI chief from June 16, 2019, to October 19, 2021, and is currently posted as the Peshawar Corps Commander. When Imran Khan was Prime Minister, Lt General Faiz Hameed is said to have been handling military and diplomatic roles. He is also known to fight Imran Khan’s political opponents, particularly the family of exiled three-time prime minister, Nawaz Sharif.

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