A Nation With Insolvency, Political Upheaval

Mohammed Ajeeb

Islamabad: Both the external and internal debts of Pakistan have reached an all-time high, and foreign exchange reserves have plummeted to rock bottom. On all accounts, the economy of the country is in a perilous state, with many economists predicting that it is on the verge of insolvency.

The current political polarisation is indicative of civil unrest and social upheaval. The government and the opposition, by refusing to talk to each other, are foolishly leading the country to an irreversible precipice.

Almost all sections of the population are hit by the interlock of inflation and the spiralling costs of basic daily necessities, but the hardest hit are the poor and the unemployed.

The government is miserably failing to find viable solutions out of the current economic abyss, and the opposition, while aggressively pushing for early elections, has no concrete alternatives for pulling the country back onto the economic track.

The politicians’ paramount interest seems to be an insatiable hunger for power, and for them, anything else is of secondary relevance.

What they don’t seem to realise is that the world is closely watching with trepidation the worsening economic and political situation of a country that is not only one of the nuclear powers but also recognised as being strategically most important to big powers whilst being surrounded by bitter political foes.

Against this, sadly, the country’s politicians, across the political spectrum, are consumed by their power-play agendas, pathetically, oblivious of the real dangers to the very existence of the country.

The rumours are rife of the military establishment stepping in to form a national government comprising willing political partners with the inclusion of some technocrats. This option has been vehemently rejected by politicians across the board, but their infighting and refusal to sit together to prevent the country from going into an imminent financial default may not leave any other option.

It is amazingly incredible and extremely distressing to note the ability of the country’s leadership to sleep, undisturbed by a lack of moral scruples and devoid of conscience.

The military is the 6th largest defence establishment in the world. The total number of its forces exceeds six hundred thousand, with a substantial amount of nuclear weaponry.  It is, by any definition, the most powerful institution in the country and a principal stakeholder. Hence, politicians of all shades and colours must not underestimate the decisive role it can play if and when they deem it necessary.

The military establishment, if and when it feels that it is not able to honour its financial commitments because the national coffers are made empty by hapless politicians, will not remain a bystander. Faced with this kind of dire and precarious situation it may be left with no option but to act, irrespective of whether its action is considered constitutional or unconstitutional, to protect and defend the interests of the institution regardless of the consequences.

This hypothesise may be construed as improbable and unrealistic, but the prevailing economic and political circumstances do not auger well at all. Hence, to completely rule out this possibility can equally be grave folly and error of political judgement.

Therefore, will it not be prudent in the light of such gloom and doom that politicians should be giving an urgent attention to achieving consensus by going back to parliament instead of dissolving assemblies?

Should they not be discussing ways and means for ridding the country of the threatening political and economic rut before it is too late? However, the prerequisite for this to happen would be for all politicians to free themselves from the complex of egoism, intransigence and obstinacy.  WILL THEY DO THIS??