A pathetic day

It is quite certain that the economy is on the rocks. The plunge of bourses and the greenback was a telling tale of how pathetic the situation is turning. At the same time, the day was marked with political wrangling as ex-PM Imran Khan was released from incarceration, only to be detained in another case before he could be served with court sermons. It doubled down the rumour-mill and temperatures on the socio-economic slide were unpredictable.

It tempted bearish and indecisive trading at the stock exchange, as it closed the day at a gigantic loss of 700 points. The dip is worrisome as it made it clear that confidence of investors is withering and they are astutely reading the writing on the wall. The frivolous Tuesday also saw the dollar gain weightage on its own, as the dwindling rupee lost 70 paisa in interbank dealings to close at 302. Whereas, in the open market it was around Rs320. Apart from chaos and absence of a fulcrum to regulate the economy, it was the news of monetary correction on the part of the central bank that blew temples as many feared that the interest rate would witness a new hike.

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As stated by an expert, “battered sentiments owing to lack of clarity on politics and economy” are factors behind the agony at hand. This needs an instant correction as the situation cannot continue like this for days to come. Pakistan is simmering with unrest, and the supra-inflated electricity bills have forced the people to take to streets. Of course, without any substantial relief the storm is unlikely to die down, and the government is literally not in a position to pacify the agitators as it finds itself cobwebbed at the hands of the IMF. Likewise, with inflation taking a new spiral, and prices of commodities and oil getting uncontrollable, it is an SOS of new dejections. Fixing the economy is not possible without putting upside-down the entire paradigm of perks and privileges, and a lopsided governance system. Time to take a call.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2023.

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