In Pakistan, 2013 will begin with a different kind of season’s greetings, and for many it will be “election greetings. PML-N which was a coalition partner with PPP immediately after last general elections, and was also supportive of the ruling party with a justification of being “Democracy Friendliness” is buoyant in sweeping the next general elections.
Sharif’s are hopeful of rooting out PPP from Punjab and also giving tough fights to other opponents in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. PML-N is counting on their recent successes in by-polls in Punjab that were won by the party with vast margins.
Interestingly, while PPP is getting pressures from all corners and defending the alleged wrong doings such as the recent scandal about non-filing of income tax by significant member parliaments from the party, increased corruption in the country and massive debt burden, other parties are now talking about economic reforms, and giving commitments for reducing corruption in the country.
The fate of Pakistani politics in 2013 will start emerging after the next general elections. But there is no doubt that whoever forms the government in Pakistan; will face tougher challenges in three key areas, i.e., poor economic conditions, fight against ever increased terrorism and unemployment. Let’s do a quick review of these three:
Economic Conditions:
Pakistan is facing an increased debt burden due to weakening Rupee against all major currencies. The Pak-Rupee has nosedived from Rs 62 to a US$ in 2008, to current Rs 99.5 to a US$. This has caused balance of payment issue, and now government is talking to IMF for support. Astonishingly, PPP government pulled out of the last IMF program due to tough conditionalities that were impossible for a political government to implement. The question here is, that IMF will now impose tougher conditions; will the next government be able to implement those?
Moreover, corruption is spreading out of proportion! Recent comments by NAB Chief accepting that there is massive corruption in the country, ranging from Rs 10-12 Billion a day, the next big economic challenge for the next government to work in an extremely corrupt market conditions. How will they manage this situation?
Increased Terrorism:
Pakistanis in every part of the country are suffering from terrorism. According to Terrorism Database, only in 2012, there were 5,962 incidents. In addition to civilian soft targets, armed forces and sensitive installations such as airports are attacked too. This will remain be one of the most significant challenges for any political government to deal!
Unemployment:
Unemployment rate in Pakistan stands at 8%, there are many reasons for high unemployment rate and the most dangerous is the declining employment opportunities for youth which will grow in numbers from 36.76 million to 43.66 million by 2030.
There are many reasons for increasing unemployment, but the two significant ones are the lack of entrepreneurial opportunities and almost zero industrial growth in the country. Foreign investors that have been in Pakistan for over 50 years have started pulling out, and kidnapping for ransom, extortion, and corruption encouraging Pakistani investors are looking for safe countries to make their investments.
The question I have been asking to myself is: Which political party has the courage to first appreciate the existence of these problems, and commit willingness to take tough measures to resolve these issues? Currently, I am afraid; I have been struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
But for certain, whoever wins the next general elections, will be in a deeper trouble!
By Hammad Siddiqui. The writer is a passionate blogger and an expert in the field of institutional capacity building. He is the Deputy Country Director at Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). Hammad has written over 300 articles on entrepreneurship, social media and policy reforms. You can follow him on Twitter @HammadS.
Abaul Raoof
Its pathetic to know how these political parties are sucking Pakistan!