Ousted prime minister Imran Khan is pushing for early national elections as he taps into growing public anger amid soaring prices and acute shortages of fuel, food and other essentials
Pakistan currently sits at No 4 in Bloomberg’s Sovereign Debt Vulnerability Ranking, a composite measure of a country’s default risk. The county’s debt stands at 71.3 per cent of GDP. Will Pakistan be the next Sri Lanka?
While the alarming economic numbers increase Pakistan’s chances of a default, the fractious political environment following the ousting of former prime minister Imran Khan in April has further increased the risk. Political stability is key to Pakistan’s economic agenda, even if it is dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with harsh conditions.
A coalition government – comprising a dozen disparate parties with conflicting political and economic objectives, and enjoying a thin majority in parliament – is tasked with handling the daunting economic challenges.
