Will Pakistan Officially Become A 'Failed Nation', What Does PM Shehbaz Sharif Say?

 

Islamabad: Is Pakistan going to be a failed nation in the literal sense, is the economic situation there so critical that the chances of Pakistan's recovery are slim, will the army once again take command in Pakistan? The words of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shahbaz Sharif, are telling that the situation is very, very bad.

•    Shehbaz has admitted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has set very strict conditions for giving the third installment of loan of $ 1.2 billion

•    He said that the conditions set by the IMF are more strict and dangerous than he thought, but he has no other option

•    Shehbaz has to deal with a severe economic crisis as well as Islamic terrorism in his own backyard, so his condition is very bad

Pakistan's deplorable condition and China's betrayal

To understand the depth of Sharif's statement, understand the very bad economy of Pakistan. The foreign exchange reserves or Forex reserves now stand at just $3.1 billion. Out of this, $3 billion is from Saudi Arabia and UAE. These are also guaranteed deposits, which means Pakistan cannot spend them either.

Worrying condition of Pakistan

•    The inflation rate in Pakistan rose to 27.8% on Thursday

•    Foreign debt was $ 130.2 billion in September 2022, after which the data was not released

 

•    Pakistani rupee (Pakistani currency) has reached 274 against the dollar, that means the crisis is worrying

•    According to the Pakistani newspaper, the Finance Minister of Pakistan may be claiming to get new loans worth $13 billion from Saudi Arabia and China, but the reality is something else

•    Talks were held with both the countries in the beginning of November and till now no money has been promised from their side

 

•    China has gone a step ahead and asked Pakistan to return installment of $1.3 billion at a time Pakistan is facing severe financial crisis

•    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is now claiming that talks are on with Saudi Arabia and it is expected that $3 billion will be received from there soon

•    However, Saudi Arabia has kept silence on this matter

Shahbaz's problem is the political situation

IMF has set very strict conditions for the loan and has also asked for political guarantee to fulfill all these conditions. IMF wants Pakistan government to double tax collection. That is, on February 9, when the talks between the IMF and the Shehbaz government will end and the government accepts these conditions, the inflation will almost double i.e. it will become 54 to 55%. At present the inflation is 25 per cent.

 

•    Simply put, if inflation doubles, people will come out on the streets and Shehbaz Sharif's chair is sure to go

•    Imran Khan is waiting for this opportunity

 

•    By the way, Pakistan's foreign debt had doubled during the four-year tenure of Imran, who is responsible for Pakistan's plight.

•    Shehbaz is so scared that he even said – I cannot tell the details, but I will definitely say that the condition of our economy is beyond your imagination

See the timing of Sharif's statement. The IMF team reached Islamabad on 31 January and will remain there till 9 February.

Report of Government of Pakistan

The report states that the inflation rate in January 2022 was 13%. This means that in just one year the inflation rate has more than doubled. Currently, about 6,000 containers are standing at Karachi Port and they could not be unloaded simply because banks do not have dollars. The businessmen are suffering huge losses, but it is a big problem for the common people, because these containers also contain items of daily needs like fruits and vegetables. 

The value of Pakistani currency has become Rs 274 against the dollar. This is double from last year.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), inflation is the highest since 1975. Then this figure was 27.77%.

Pakistan will become a bankrupt and unsuccessful nation

Miftah Ismail was the Finance Minister of Pakistan till two months ago. He has said that Pakistan can be declared a defaulter any time now. During a TV show, he said that International Monetary Fund i.e. IMF is not ready to give installment of new loan to Pakistan. Pakistan could not recover from the devastation that started in our economy during the time of Imran Khan.
In a special report released on Wednesday by Pakistan's big newspaper 'The Express Tribune', information has been given about one such condition of IMF, which is difficult to fulfill. That condition is of political guarantee. Imran will not accept the promises made by any other political party. What will the IMF do then? The government can fulfill this condition by bringing an ordinance in the Parliament, but this is also very difficult.
There is no opposition in the Parliament and after 6 months the ordinance will end, then what will happen. For the time being, everyone's eyes are fixed on February 9. That's not all Shehbaz has to deal with. They also have to deal with terrorism. The recent blast in the mosque in Peshawar has also broken the morale of the policemen. The TTP, the Pakistani part of the Taliban, has also become a cancer for Pakistan.