The external debts of the country have crossed $85 billion mark in five years, but the government is still in process to get more assistance from the international donor agencies. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government had accepted a three year extended facility programme of over $6 billion from the International Monetary Fund in 2013. Unfortunately, the economy has been experiencing the same situation for the last two years. The incharge of finance and economy has left the country and the new entrants will take time to understand troubling facts. The mandate of the current government is also going to end this year. The bleak performance of the economy only points out one fact, the government is facing financial crunch and may be resort to IMF once again at a time the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank are reluctant to extend any considerable assistance to the government. The economy has gone back to square and the policymakers are unwittingly groping in the dark to find a clue to resolve the deepening economic crisis. The bubble of macroeconomic stability, which was the pet word of the former finance minister, has already burst. The donor agencies never approve loans without attaching strings of their conditionalities.
Some economists fear the pressure of the United States and India are costing heavily on the economy. The current IMF conditions are economic, which could turn into political any time under the pressure of US state department. Despite vast resources and political leverage, Pakistan is not like Iran to shrug off the pressure from all sides. Political instability is not a blessing, but curse on this nation. At a time the world powers are exerting all their pressure on Pakistan, the politicians are busy in catching each other by collars. The poor performance of the economy will soon bring the total loan volume of the country to $100 billion. The current year is the election year and an interim government is expected to be set up in a few months. In this situation, it is difficult for the Abbasi government to restructure and reshape the economy. The country is facing economic and political uncertainties, including fiscal deficit, low exports and depleting foreign exchange reserves. The government has already performed poorly despite receiving $6.67 billion from the IMF and no one has been held responsible for the situation. Until an able leadership takes hold of the financial and administrative matters, there is a little hope the economy will bounce back.
