I wonder what happened to the economy after the apex court verdict of July 28. The forex reserves have depleted so badly that it would be really hard to support the import bill for the next six months.

In fact, the present circumstances are no better than they were previously. The only difference is that there is no one here to forge the facts as the minister of finance had been doing for the last four years. The World Bank’s recent report shows that Pakistan would need at least $30bn this year to keep itself from being declared bankrupt. But the government seems very pleased with the current scenario.

The power sector is producing electricity at high rates, though the price of crude oil is at its lowest. We have to go back to the IMF shortly. The irony is that the CPEC, the biggest project, is also based on loans and debts rather than investments. We are taking more loans to pay previous installments.

The whole nation is in a state of helplessness. The circular debt, external debt, trade deficit and the balance of payments, in short everything is down on its knees. A long-term and pragmatic approach is needed now.

Our government ought to think about the economy while putting political gains and loses aside. Otherwise, the economic instability and foreign debt pile-ups would result in gruesome consequences.

Muhammad Aized

Gujranwala

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2017