The 22-year-long efforts of Imran Khan culminated in his taking oath as the prime minister of Pakistan. The 2018 general elections saw the emergence of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as the leading political force ahead of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Imran Khan and his cabinet ministers vowed to bring a change to the political structure of the country. They also assured to give importance to the people – the citizens – and ensured to rectify the mistakes the past governments did. However, the people now want to ask the Prime Minister many questions. These relate to the promises made during his post-election campaigns. While Imran Khan was hopeful to make a difference, the results are not as expected.
Imran Khan did go on a hunt to bring down Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari. He asked the concerned authorities to question the whereabouts from where Sharif and Zardari received their capital, asset and properties. Although Imran Khan was successful in disqualifying Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister and also created barricades for Zardari, something was missing. There was no real accountability in place. What transpired following PTI’s emergence as the ruling party was Imran Khan indulging in revenge politics with the PML (N) and the PPP. An ideal situation would have been to arrest Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari, ask them to hand over all of their money they amassed through illegal means to the government and leave the country for good. However, both Sharif and Zardari went to the hospital to solve their health concerns after years of devouring public money.
Imran Khan’s entrance strategy into Pakistan’s political fabric was good. He staged a dharna in Islamabad to oust the sitting government and presented points to create a Naya Pakistan. Once coming to power, however, his strategy either changed or he deviated from the tasks. Soon after taking oath the global media began calling him a tout of the army. The Washington Post ran a story titled, “Pakistan’s military has its fingerprints all over the elections” that pretty much spelled out the global viewpoint on how and why Imran Khan was brought as the leader. Several opinions – and varying controversies – are floating in the media and the general public regarding Imran Khan’s rise as a leader. Some consider that Pakistan needed a leader who could work with the US, UK and the world to build a positive image of Pakistan. Others, however, are presenting a different narrative. Researchers and analysts suggest that PTI’s objective is to fulfill the wishes of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and to further hamper economic growth in Pakistan. The sudden and unchecked increase in inflation and the barricades implemented on the industries and businesses is a tactic to achieve this objective.
Imran Khan’s entrance strategy into Pakistan’s political fabric was good. He staged a dharna in Islamabad to oust the sitting government and presented points to create a Naya Pakistan
PTI’s entrance as the ruling party came at a time when the country was going through a crisis. While the governments of PML (N) and PPP had not been completely honest with the people, their era was not economically unstable. The general perception of Nawaz Sharif is that he provided avenues for the business community to flourish. Imran Khan, on the other hand, is making it difficult for the business community to survive. Perhaps the PTI government must implement a cohesive monetary policy or a fiscal policy with a far-reaching positive impact on the economy. Then there is the case of rising inflation that has badly affected economic progress at the micro and the macro levels. Analysts have observed a stark difference in the reduction of purchasing parity among the middle and the lower-middle-class ever since Imran Khan came to power. According to a research report published in Pakistan’s leading media group, the trade deficit was an issue during 2003 and 2004 – the period under General Musharraf. However, this trade deficit increased exponentially during the era of PML-N. Interestingly, there was an increase in imports and exports during PPP’s era. The IMF, however, has blamed the policies of PML-N and PTI for damaging the economy. The executive board of the IMF while giving a $6 billion bailout package to Pakistan in July 2019 said, “Misaligned economic policies, including large fiscal deficits, loose monetary policy, and defence of an overvalued exchange rate, fuelled consumption and short-term growth in recent years, but steadily eroded macroeconomic buffers, increased external and public debt, and depleted international reserves,” This goes to show that the PTI did not rectify the economic problems it inherited from its predecessor but only worsened it. According to the World Bank, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Pakistan slowed to 3.3% in fiscal year (FY) 2019. The stabilization measures taken by the government brought a 2.2% point decline as compared to the previous year. The current account deficit reduced to US$13.5 billion (4.8% of GDP) in FY19 to US$19.9 billion (6.3% of GDP) in FY18. This was because of a decline in goods import by 7.4%. The services imports also faced a decline by 14.9%.
Imran Khan did have a strategy to enter into the government by winning the elections, he perhaps had not chalked out the strategy to lead Pakistan towards prosperity. PTI did form the government by amassing 17 (out of 104) seats in the senate, 156 (out of 342) seats in the national assembly but it could not translate its dreams and goals into viable action plans. According to South Asian Voices (SAV), Pakistan had to take austerity measures because of IMF’s bailout program. The World Bank, according to SAV, estimates that the GDP of Pakistan will fall to 2.7% in 2020. The investor sentiment has also tarnished under PTI’s reign. SAV reports that direct investment inflows have shown a decline of 59% to US$ 73.4 million. This indicates that investor confidence was high and positive during PML-N’s tenure.
The writer, a columnist and book reviewer, frequently writes on current affairs
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