KARACHI:
Currently, Pakistan is faced with a grave economic crisis and the government is finding it severely challenging to overcome this financial catastrophe. For the first time in the history of Pakistan, its gross domestic product (GDP) growth shrunk to a negative 0.38% for the fiscal year (2019-20), having recovered of late to 5.37%, thanks to the low-base effect.
The prevailing economic crisis can be attributed to bad governance and failure of the government’s economic managers. Instead of managing the economy efficiently, the government failed to recognise the looming financial crisis and take timely measures to avoid the financial meltdown. Resultantly, the country is headed towards economic turmoil.
Within the last two years, inflation has risen considerably. The annual inflation rate in Pakistan accelerated to 11.5% in November of 2021 from 9.2% in the previous month. In addition, poverty is at an all-time high with the number of poor people consistently increasing as food items and other commodities are getting beyond the reach for the common man. While the economy is sliding downwards, there has been an unprecedented growth of various cartels in the country. These cartels are controlling the prices and supply of almost all critical food items and petroleum products without any governmental check. Despite investigations and proof against their deliberate corruption – causing heavy losses to the economy and shortages of items in the market – they stand unaccountable and scot-free. Also, the exchange rate of the local currency has continuously depreciated against major currencies. The worst part is that the government and those responsible for the economy still appear oblivious to the economic meltdown.
To revive the economy and uphold the sovereignty of the country, there is a need to adopt rigorous measures to avoid an economic downturn and consolidate growth and development. The Prime Minister should re-evaluate the governance system and replace his team of economic managers with an apt, proficient and experienced unit whose focus must be the state of Pakistan and its population.
Ahsan Murtaza
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2022.
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