New year’s eve was celebrated across the country and around the World as 2022 proved to be a productive year for some countries while the most testified for others including Pakistan. The previous year left Pakistan in multiple challenges ranging from political uncertainty to rising terrorism and economic insecurity.
This year begins with a fresh political motion from the major opposition Party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), calling for countrywide protests against sky rising inflation and to force the government for snap polls. The call is given amid unwavering terror incidents, uncontrolled inflation, fears of default and government’s inability to afford fresh elections and dissolutions of KP and Punjab Assemblies.
People’s prosperity is directly linked with economic stability while economic stability can’t be achieved in the absence of peace and political stability. These are three major aspects of ongoing uncertainty, mistrust and citizens’ craving for moving abroad, specifically educated class. According to official data released by the Bureau of Emigration, 765,000 educated youth left the country for overseas opportunities last year, nearly triple the 225,000 departures in 2021 and 288,000 emigrants in 2020. Among those left the country were over 92,000 well educated professionals like Doctors, Engineers, IT Experts and Accountants.
Earlier on December 20, 2022, it was an indirect admission of the government to default mantra as a Federal Cabinet meeting that ranked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme as the last option. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday the government had “no other option” but to implement the IMF conditions that was earlier termed by Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal as not-people friendly. Hinting at the further delay in reaching the agreement with IMF on the ninth review, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal last Monday told media that some of the Fund’s conditions were too harsh for the common people and can’t be accepted. “Still, the government is trying to negotiate [with IMF] and lessen the burden on the people,” the federal minister added.
According to a report released by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Pakistan suffered 376 terror attacks in 2022 out of which banned terror outfits such as TTP, Daesh and BLA claimed responsibility for 57 of these strikes. The report warned Pakistan is likely to endure more violence in 2023.
Security forces lost at least 282 personnel in 2022, with 40 fatalities only in December, in attacks that Included Improvised Explosive Device (IED) ambushes, suicide attacks and raids on security posts, mostly in the Pakistan-Afghan border regions.
In view of these major challenges, holding General elections are also in the limbo as polls are scheduled to be held in Pakistan less than 60 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly, which is set to dissolve on 13 August 2023, unless dissolved earlier: in which case the election shall be held within 90 days after dissolution according to the Constitution. This means that the election must be held no later than 12 October 2023.
So, in 2023, the government has to make an environment for general elections. It has to firmly depose security threats to the country and defeat terrorism. While the government also has to prove the default mantra as just a narrative built in political talk-shows. And the government also has to win the trust of people, businesses and foreign investors.
Published in Daily Country News, January 2nd, 2023.