A short Glimpse of 2022!

 A short Glimpse of 2022!

       People worldwide are counting the year and looking for the best opportunities for 2023. Significantly the developed nations could genuinely celebrate the happiness of the coming year as they have the best living standards, such as quality education, healthcare, advanced infrastructure ad technology, as well as various avenues and well balanced economic system. Alternatively, developing nations like Pakistan are struggling to survive health inequalities, climate change, flood, poverty, malnutrition, economic instability and political turmoils. How bad things have happened, and Pakistan is going to default?. It is the question which comes to everyone's mind. 

    2022 has been a complete roller coaster ride for Pakistan, where, perhaps, the desire for power has been shown so brazenly Due to this power struggle, the removal of the PTI government by a no-confidence motion has contributed to the existing problems in the country.

    On the political front,  Pakistani has gone through political change on a large scale. These political changes have brought society to systematic polarization. In the first instance, it all started with the rhetorical maligning of the rivals. After that, the tenor and tone of the discourse, coming down from the top leadership, have been turned into a facial frenzy. As per international rating agencies, the PTI's long marches and looming elections bring political instability, hindering the incumbent government to carry out any reforming policy.  

    The country has been facing myriad issues requiring the political parties to set aside their personal interests and promote larger national interests. In lieu, the politicians need to focus on more social and economic issues. As things stand now, if polarization is not checked properly, then it has far more consequences in the long term.  

     The rhetoric and narrative like " Hum Koe Gulam Hain" and "Haqeeqa Azadi" create chaos and blame games among the political parties throughout the year; therefore, the polarisation and political confrontation have weakened the democratic institutions of the country.

   Moving further, in the face of a confidence motion, the military leadership refused to help Imran Khan, which laid down the ground to topple the government in less than four years. However, this whole situation has left the country in a greater political mess, and the coalition of PDM fights back with unprecedented ferocity, which no one had ever imagined before. 

    The Imran khan and establishment tussle brought the situation to a point where the establishment has distanced itself from its active role in the hybrid political rule with the former prime minister. However, it does not mean they are not in the political game, as the shadow looms. 

    On the other hand, inflation in the past years and this year has been the proverbial straw that has broken people's backs. Ever-increasing energy bills, fuel costs, food items and other essentials have left people in a vulnerable plight. Middle-class income groups are facing the burnt, and salaries have not kept pace with inflation. 

    Throughout the year, the pressure has not been abating people, and the risk is now quite significant in the prevailing economic crises of Pakistan. The gravity of the situation could be gauged by the fact that the economic crises of Pakistan are deepening by the consistent depreciation of the rupee. On 9th December 2022, the rupee closed at 224.40 which is an alarming and a major area of concern.

    As the year closes,  the outlook of Pakistan seems terrible on the economic front. The analyst gets worried as the country might end like Sri Lanka- a regional neighbour as they are short on reserves, struggling with skyrocketing inflation, and unable to pay foreign debts. Moreover, Pakistan is scheduled to repay foreign debts of more than $ 26 billion in the fiscal year of 2023 which required urgent attention. 

    Lastly, Pakistan suffered climate disaster amid political and economic turmoil. One-third of the country was underwater and the farmers had lost seasonal crops that required quick assistance from Islamabad.

    In this time of trouble, politicians should abandon their personal issues and interest aside to bring political stability.  The country's credit has gone down since March due to political instability as per Financial experts. Therefore,  the government need to go with reforms primarily in the energy sector. There is a dire need to privatise the state-owned entities which are at a loss as this is the viable solution on the table at present.