A wave of unease and anguish pervades the country. The events of May 9 have only added to the state of uncertainty in the county in a big way. Economic slowdown and rising inflation have constituted a double whammy for the people of this country.

Growing unemployment caused by reduced economic activity has added fuel to the fire. Unfortunately, however, the government is doing nothing to control the rising joblessness.

In other words, it is in no position to tackle joblessness and employability issues as it has been seen to be expending all its energies on efforts aimed at overcoming the challenge of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan day in, day out.

That the country’s economy is in tatters is no secret. Moreover, that the country stares at bankruptcy as the economic crisis worsens is no longer news. To the government, however, politics has clear precedence over everything else.

It has even refused to understand the urgency of the situation a woeful depletion in foreign exchange reserves and the stalled IMF bailout have caused. Yet, it is planning to present to the nation a populist annual budget next month in order to brighten its electoral prospects or regain some of the political capital that it has lost since last year.

In my view, the government seems to have lost sight of the fact that there is a great deal of trouble in store for all the coalition partners, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), if they persist in their ways.

Nahid Mirza (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023