A meeting between President Arif Alvi of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and finance minister Ishaq Dar of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) seems to have added to the dynamics of politics of a country, which is said to be on the brink of sovereign default and living off an uncertain International Monetary Fund bailout programme owing to a terribly woeful state of economy.

Although the recent decline in foreign exchange reserves has been attributed to the payments that the government of Pakistan has made against the Sukuk bond and other debts, biting inflation, negative business confidence and growing political uncertainly have already added to pessimism and hopelessness among people.

How ironic it is that the government has been vociferously rejecting speculations of a possible sovereign default, such wild rumors refuse to die down. The current state of economy, in my view, poses a threat to the future of democracy because an economic crisis limits governments’ ability to spend, and it spells out a general decline in people’s standards of living and their wealth.

In sum, the current situation is fraught with such dangers because political tensions continue to simmer. It is a fact that something that is simmering can be controlled, but may burst out any time; often violently. Is there any way out? The first step in this regard will be an end to political bickering.

All of us know that the beneficiaries of posturing and grandstanding are the enemies of democracy.

Nahid Mirza (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022