Why Pakistan’s Economic Woes Continues Even In 2021 & It Is In Dire Need Of A Principled Political Leader

While Imran Khan was in opposition for 22 years, he motivated the masses through entertaining stories of the past and present political leaders’ corruption and even openly criticising the military. Moreover, he rightly so, inspired us by sharing his heroics of winning the 1992 cricket World Cup and constriction of Pakistan’s first cancer hospital.

Some of us did believe that he had all the answers to Pakistan’s chronic problems and will do his utmost to fix it. Because every leader before him coming to power that is political or military, always gave us an aspirin for pain relief.

I thought that Imran Khan would have provided a Band-Aid for the acute pain Pakistan has been in for the last 70 years and in the process solve chronic problems to achieve long term growth and lasting results to improve the lives of ordinary Pakistanis.

Imran khan and his team in the last 3 years has been unable to create trustful relationships with the army establishment, bureaucracy, other government departments, the judiciary, the opposition and even with its advisors and economic team.?

Yes, we can argue that all had conflicting interests but Imran Khan being the leader we thought he would become, failed to take a stand for the greater national interest and for one second let go of his ego and pride.

Another reason for the trust deficit among them is that they lack empathy and synergy.

As a result, no matter what actions they take, they are not productive and do not deliver the desired results.?

Why quick, easy, traditional approach and Economics 101 did not work in solving the economic problems of Pakistan?

Because all the economic managers and political/military leaders tried to use manipulative strategies and tactics to get things done in the short term. Moreover, make the other people do what they want them to do.?

But they all failed to achieve the desired results because their character is weak and compromised and their competency is questionable. There is no doubt that Imran Khan has good intentions for Pakistan but he lacks the trust because he did not build it while in government as he is politically and morally compromised, which we can see from his decisions to stop NAB & FIA inquiries of his friends, cabinet members and advisors.?

Pakistan is literally “rolling over and showing its belly” to the IMF like never before.

With the devaluation of the rupee taking a further hit, higher dollar price imports as we have become a net importer and increase in energy tariffs will keep the inflation in double-digits even in the next year, which will make life very hard for the common masses.

"Rising dollar rates benefit some people and harm others. Overseas Pakistanis benefit because their family members receive more remittances. We should not forget those who benefit,” the SBP chief official had said recently.

Firstly, I am sure that he was made the SBP head to change and improve the lives of ordinary Pakistanis.

Secondly, I can say that the vast majority of overseas Pakistanis, myself,??many friends and people I know in different countries do not share his sentiment and do not want more money for their foreign remittances because it hurts not just the ordinary Pakistanis back home but the country in the long run too.

The SBP governor when speaking might be talking about his wealthy friends, who he also benefited with ‘hot money’ when the interest rate was 13.5% in which people made millions and saw a flight of capital from Pakistan.?

We do not know why he took such extreme measures and it did not make any positive impact on the economy but in fact, made conditions much worse for many months especially for small businesses. Also, he was not held accountable for that too and so the debacles continue.

The SBP governor should tender his sincere apology to the overseas Pakistanis and make amends to fix the mess he created.?

Anyone can manage the economy by devaluating the currency, increasing dollar prices and energy tariffs as it's not rocket science. The key people in Imran Khan’s economic team and other advisors are acting as HITMAN because of a conflict of interests.

What else do you expect from an ex-IMF official and people who have worked in previous governments and are donor for Imran Khan’s hospital and PTI.?

It’s high time for them to get their return on investment (ROI), some have already and while others are still.

I am sure my esteemed childhood accountant friends Adeel Abdullah, Shoaib Akbar & Jamshed Iqbal alone or together can manage the state bank and economy much better.

Global Human Development Report (GHDR) of 2020

Pakistan is ranked 154th out of 189 countries in the Global Human Development Report (GHDR) of 2020 by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The human development approach has much to contribute to addressing our collective paralysis in the face of alarming planetary change.

Human development is about expanding human freedoms and opening more choices for people to chart their development paths according to their diverse values rather than about prescribing one or more particular paths.

What does the Report explore by way of new metrics?

With all the other human development metrics, they help countries understand their progress broadly over time, learn from other countries’ experiences and raise their ambitions in advancing human development while accounting for people’s interactions with the planet. They also help people and civil society organizations hold countries accountable for their commitments.

Only some African countries are below Pakistan.

Other notable mentions in the Report are:

Rank 1:???Norway

Rank 8:???Australia

Rank 13:? United Kingdom

Rank 17:? United States

Rank 23:? South Korea

Rank 54:? Turkey

Rank 62:? Malaysia

Rank 72:? Sri Lanka

Rank 85:? China

Rank 131:?India

Rank 133:??Bangladesh

Rank 142:??Nepal

Rank 154:??Pakistan

World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index 2021

Out of 139 countries, Pakistan has been ranked at 130th place in the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index 2021 project.

The Index covers such rule of law factors as constraints on government power, fundamental rights, corruption, discrimination, security, and the functioning of regulatory, criminal, and civil justice systems.?

This quantitative tool provides citizens, governments, policymakers, donors, businesses, media, academics, and civil society organizations around the world with a comprehensive comparative analysis of countries’ adherence to universal rule of law principles.?

Pakistan has been placed 5th out of six in the South Asian region. Moreover, Imran Khan & his team who always likes to compare Pakistan with our neighbours, need to know that Nepal, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh all are better placed as compared to Pakistan.

Pakistan is placed in the red zone for corruption, fundamental rights and security situation in the country.

We have can deduct from this report and ground realities that the process of accountability has failed to deliver the desired results because it’s more of a witch hunt for the opposition political leaders. After all, NAB has either cleared or not initiated further inquiries for the ruling party leaders.

Moreover, how Imran Khan has made NAB toothless with the new ordinance and absolved himself and his cabinet for future prosecution.

This is one of many reasons that the process of accountability even has failed to receive recognition in the report as a Rule of Law exercise.

Other notable mentions in the Index are:

Rank 1:???Denmark

Rank 2:???Norway

Rank 13:?Australia

Rank 16:?United Kingdom

Rank 20:?South Korea

Rank 27:?United States

Rank 54:?Malaysia

Rank 70:?Nepal

Rank 76:?Sri Lanka

Rank 79:?India

Rank 98:?China

Rank 117:??Turkey

Rank 124:??Bangladesh

Rank 130:??Pakistan

Rank 134:??Afghanistan

A Principled Political Leader

The change was not going to come from outside but from within and Imran Khan needed to show more integrity and stick to his old principles.??

People naturally trust those whose personality is established upon equitable principles. We all human beings make mistakes from time to time and accept our wrongdoing to correct them.

When people trust us and if we make mistakes, they will understand the underlying objective and do what’s needed. All this shows that we can communicate clearly and effortlessly project our point of view without any disruption.?

But, when there is a trust deficit then the line of communication is broken, it is time consuming, ineffective and becomes very difficult.??We see this from Imran trying to get things done from the bureaucracy but most of the time blaming the Mafia or NAB and not looking at his shortcomings.

Imran Khan’s vision for Pakistan is clear and pointing in the right direction too. But he has selected the wrong team to lead Pakistan into the new future and has completely lost his way after three years in government.??The main reason is that there are too many people with a conflict of interest in the cabinet and their values and ambitions do not resonate with that of the ordinary Pakistanis.??

The ruling elite and even the ordinary citizens have violated all the natural laws and norms of a civilised society with impunity time and time again.??

Pakistanis collectively but especially the elite lack a greater social commitment to correct principles and unfortunately, this acts as a hindrance in nation-building.

Conclusion

If Imran Khan wants to make Pakistan “Riyasat-e-Madina”, he should look at this report and start to vigorously make amends to improve each aspect mentioned in the report and not just simply make political slogans anymore.

If Imran Khan wants to improve Pakistan’s image and bring more FDI, then create one Pakistan for all not two, as it is for now and improve rule of law in the country. Pakistan does very poorly in rule of law and governance because the ruling elite and the wealthy make or amend laws to protect their interests and businesses, not the common masses.?

The red tape and bureaucracy create hurdles for FDI intentionally and approve only those companies that are either approved by the ministers or their frontman and they in return get commission or some perks.

For long the political apparatus and system is designed as such that it is full of prejudices and every segment of the society and power lobbies are categorised into a pecking order, so that they can be manipulated by the unforeseen forces when needed to their own advantage.?

There are many examples from the past but we can clearly see this pattern with what’s happening with the new DG ISI’s appointment, TLP’s country wide protests and Balochistan Assembly with BAP.

People are easily seduced by pride, ego, money, power or worse yet by intimidation.

Almost everyone and everything has a price in Pakistan and one must only be willing to pay if he wants it his way. Why people have a price is because they are more focused on power, fame, wealth, status in society, position, worldly possessions and domination.

If we give and devote our life to some sacred cause, a higher purpose and principles, then all of the above does not matter.

Having said that improving the overall outdated justice and the legal system as well as stemming out corruption from all government departments is not impossible.

It is possible only if Imran Khan has the will, appoint people on merit but not on loyalties and personal affiliations and adopt zero tolerance for corruption and inefficiency.