There is no denying the fact that the economy of the country is precariously perched at the edge of a precipice due to the shenanigans of the political parties and their leaders who have invariably focused on pushing forward their narrow political agendas and fomenting political instability. It is said that economic progress hinges on perennial political stability. This reality is corroborated by the history of the developed countries as well as rapidly developing countries.
Pakistan is a victim of self-inflicted tragedies and the dilemma is that our politicians refuse to learn from history and rectify the blunders that have brought Pakistan to where it stands now. Political rivalries have been stoked into political enmities without ever bothering to introspect what harm the obtaining situation is inflicting on the country as a whole and the lives of the people.
In a democratic polity, the ruling party and those sitting in the opposition are two sides of the same coin. The opposition is government in the waiting. Though the party in the government may have different views and strategies from the opposition to deal with national issues their ultimate and common aim is the well-being of the people, ensuring peace and development and protection of the state interests. Nevertheless, it is only possible when the political parties do their politics in conformity with the internationally recognized norms of democracy and have an unflinching commitment to upholding the constitution and laws of the land besides respecting each other’s mandate.
The country needs a charter of economy and abiding commitment to bring political and legal reforms needed to ensure political stability.
Unfortunately, our history is quite contrary to it. The parties losing the election refuse to accept the mandate of the winning party and have been invariably disputing the result claiming rigging in the favour of the winning party. They find it convenient to blame the establishment instead of having faith in the state institution responsible for conducting the polls and seeking redress of their grievances through the legal forums available in this regard. General elections in 2024 are no exception to this undesirable behaviour of the political parties.
The split mandate given by the people is being vociferously decried by PTI and other political parties. The PTI is claiming that its mandate has been stolen even though the candidates backed by the party have swept the elections in KPK and also obtained 95 seats of the national assembly. Calls are being given for protests against alleged rigging and thwarting the political process in the post-election period not realizing the fact that any attempt to orchestrate political instability in the country would lead to unimaginable consequences as far as the economy is concerned.
The country has witnessed unprecedented political instability from April 2022 up to the 2024 general elections due to an ambience of confrontation between political parties adding to the velocity of an economic nosedive. There was almost a national consensus that elections were imperative to bring the much-desired and needed political stability in the country to stem the rot in the economy and provide relief to the masses. Now that the elections have been held and the process of forming governments in the centre and provinces is reaching its conclusion it is the responsibility of all the political parties to avoid confrontational politics.
My considered view is that in the given situation political stability and revival of the economy is the only way forward. The political parties will have to use their collective wisdom to win the country out of the challenges related to the economy putting behind their rivalries and inflated egos. They must understand that the country can no longer stand politics of disruption and chaos. Everybody will have to contribute his share to the development of the country. The people will also have to identify those elements which are in any way involved in the activities to thwart the progress of the country. Adopting the suggested course is inevitable with no other options being available.
To understand the severity of the economic challenges it is perhaps pertinent to point out that by June 2024 the country has to pay a loan amounting to $ 24 billion and during the next three years another $79 billion will have to be repaid. The country is almost in a debt trap due to reckless borrowing by successive regimes more so by the PTI government which borrowed $ 52 billion during its three and half years of rule more than the amounts borrowed by other regimes in their stints of power. The country is also bearing the loss of hundreds of billions of rupees monthly by keeping the state-owned enterprises afloat.
Under the circumstances writing a letter to the IMF by Imran Khan urging it not to approve the much-needed bail-out packages for Pakistan is indeed very regrettable and falls in the domain of anti-state act. The IMF will not provide the much-needed relief to the rival party of PTI but to Pakistan. It is therefore incumbent upon all the political parties to focus on national interests instead of their political gains. Pakistan comes first. At the moment the country needs national reconciliation to winch it out of the quagmire that it is stuck into.
The country needs a charter of economy and abiding commitment by all political parties to bring political and legal reforms that might be needed to ensure political stability in the country, strengthen the state edifice as well and carry out electoral reforms that could forever eliminate the culture of creating doubts about outcomes of elections. It is a now-or-never situation. The entire onus lies on the political leadership of the country. And God forbid, if they fail to rise to the occasion it could lead to incalculable harm to the country besides making them irrelevant to the future political landscape.
The writer is a former diplomat and freelance columnist.