From Musharraf to Mugabe

The removal of Robert Mugabe, the founding father of Zimbabwe, who was widely known for unleashing death squads, rigging elections and destroying economy in relentless pursuit of retaining power, brings under the spotlight the end of Pakistan's military dictator General Pervez Musharraf who too had to quit after a parliament under the Pakistan People's Party rule initiated the process of his impeachment. In his first national address since military takeover earlier this month, Mugabe, who was surrounded by generals turning each page of his speech, had defied expectations as he made no mention of stepping down after 37 years in charge. He quit only after he realized that his impeachment is inevitable. Musharraf too realized that his impeachment is a certain thing and stepped down, albeit reluctantly. The principal reason behind Mugabe's ouster is his country's economic collapse. In Pakistan, Musharraf was accused of squandering away most of the economic gains of his rule at the altar of political expediency just prior to the 2008 general elections. He, for example, had not allowed the impact of rising global oil prices to be passed on to consumers in order to shield the seemingly bright electoral prospects of his party, PML-Q, bringing the stock of country's foreign exchange reserves under immense pressure and effecting grim deterioration in external balance.
Last but not least, some facts about the Zimbabwean economy find their relevance in the case of Pakistan's state of economy. In September 2016, Zimbabwe's finance minister identified "low levels of production and the attendant trade gap, insignificant foreign direct investment and lack of access to international finance due to huge arrears" as significant causes for the poor performance of the economy. At present, Pakistan's economy, which is though far bigger than Zimbabwe's, is facing a profound external account challenge, leaving the government with no option but to go to the global capital market to raise $ 2-3 billion through Eurobond and sukuk to ward off the threats of sovereign default.