Political Chess Games
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Like Nero who fiddled while Rome burned, the major political parties and powerful establishments in Pakistan are engaged in a ruthless Game of Thrones while the economy sinks and the country is on the verge of technical insolvency. Instead of the economy driving politics, it is the other way around. The 220 million citizens of Pakistan, who are the real legitimate stakeholders, for whom Quaid and AIML stalwarts waged a political struggle for the creation of a separate homeland, are the least of priorities for those involved in the Chess Game.
Given the ground realities, as of January 2023, Pakistans total public debt is around Rs. 62.46 trillion, which is equivalent to approximately US$274 billion and is almost 79% of the Gross Domestic Product. The debt repayment obligations due in the first quarter of 2023 stand at $8 billion, while our FOREX reserves are only $5.82. Our external debt has increased to $126.9 billion from $99.23 billion in 2018, escalating to $130.2 billion by June 2022. Despite mere lip service about austerity, the non-development budget has constantly increased. Those who have been at the helm since 1958 have been taking loans to repay external debts while leading luxurious lifestyles at state expense, importing the latest expensive bulletproof vehicles such as Mercedes Maybach, private jets, and helicopters for their exclusive use.
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Despite an ever-increasing population, our total agricultural producing area is shrinking, thanks to the powerful real estate mafia. We have gone from being a wheat and cotton exporting country to a country that now imports them.
MALIK TARIQ ALI,
Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 12:27 am