On 14th August 2023, Pakistan is celebrating its freedom in the form of the 77th Independence Day. The official version is that the country gained independence from the British after 200 years of slavery; and Mohammad Ali Jinnah was the guiding light of Muslims in the Independence struggle of Pakistan. The pork-eating, cigar-smoking, whiskey-aficionado pseudo-Muslim is celebrated as the savior of the nation from foreign forces. However, the question is what exactly is Pakistan free from.
Presumably, Pakistan is celebrating its freedom from logic, reasoning, and shame. The country’s debt ridden economy is dangling on the dangerous precipice of complete collapse. The crumbling nation is somehow held together with the glue of shady deals for Chinese money, donations in the name of ‘Allah’ from the Arab nations, and alms begged from the IMF.
What is the current economic state of Pakistan?
Pakistan’s Independence Day is marked by the crippling economic crisis that beleagures its people. The nation is under a $140 billion debt which accounts for 93% of its GDP. The nation named as “God’s own country” owes $2.07 billion to China and $195 million to Saudi Arabia. This debt was to be returned by July 2023. Moreover, it owes another $1 billion as a safe deposit to China. Therefore, Pakistan owes close to $3 billion to China in the month of July 2023.
Apart from these two countries, Pakistan owes return payments to the IMF for outstanding previous loans. Moreover, its payments to the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and International Fund for Agricultural Development are also way past their due date. During the course of the next 3 years, Pakistan will have to repay $80 billion. Thus, it is not incorrect to assume that Pakistan is deeply sunk in a vicious cycle of taking on more debt to return previous debt.
Pakistan is facing an enormous inflation rate of 29.4% since the month of June. Previously, this rate was 38% till May 2023. Thus, the data for the financial year 2022-23 shows that Pakistan is facing a devastating recession. Consequently, the largest bearers of the horrors of this recession is the general Pakistani public. Foreign firms are closing down offices and production houses in the nation to cut their losses. More than half the local mills and factories have shut down. The railway network is almost non-existent and the nation has gone back to its donkey-cart era.
The cost of living has skyrocketed in the country and daily necessities, like tea, sugar, and milk, have become luxuries for the common people. Unsurprisingly, the current exchange rate is India’s ₹1 is equivalent to Rs. 4 in Pakistani currency.
What is the current political state of Pakistan?
The paralyzed government of Pakistan led by the Pakistan Muslim League’s Shahbaz Sharif was dissolved on 8th August 2023. The current skeleton administrative body is led by Anwar ul-Haq Kakar, a member of the Balochistan Awami Party. The lower house was dissolved by Pakistani President Arif Alvi to pave the road for general elections in the month of November.
The public uprising and common dissatisfaction syndrome propagated by the Pakistani administration has come back to bite its own governments. The riots and mass protests against the removal of Imran Khan had pushed the nation suffering from economic debts into the dirty waters of political turmoil. The recent criminal conviction of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Imran Khan has put the leader behind bars and disqualified him from the upcoming race for the doddering throne of Pakistan’s Prime Minister.
How does the World Perceive Pakistan today?
Pakistan is now a demonstration of how to ruin a nation and how to destroy a thriving country. The nation’s name has become synonymous with corruption, military coups, terrorism camps, scandals, drug cartels, arms nexus, and insurgency. The situation is so bad that Afghanistan has filed a complaint against Pakistan for terrorism on public forums. The Afghan Taliban have accused the terrorists of Pakistan of promoting terror in its own country as well as Afghanistan while using the name of the Afghan Taliban.
The begging bowl is never too far from the supreme leaders of Pakistan. They have repeatedly begged Muslim-majority nations to provide fiscal donations for the country’s basic functioning. Moreover, they covertly threaten to unleash the terrorists harbored in its regions across the globe for Christian nations’ to loosen their purse strings. Naval vessels for fleeing Pakistanis are common in European nations. Additionally, finding Pakistani links to acts of riots, terrorism, or armed rebellion is almost a foregone conclusion in any global tragedy. Pakistan is selling off its assets in pieces to China. The railways, mines, airports, and naval ports are up for sale to any nation or private conglomerate. Pakistan is ready to receive any spare change in return for its national assets in order to survive the next few years.
Despite this dire state of affairs, Pakistan is still celebrating its freedom. The Pakistani public still dreams of destroying India in a war. They fail to recognize that their so-called almighty Pakistani Army has lost to India in its last two attempts. They also fail to recognize the rise of India as a global power. The rose-colored glasses on the eyes of the Pakistani public are firmly in place to help them imagine Pakistan as a rising power under the eyes of ‘Allah’ and the world. While Pakistan ‘celebrates’ its 77th Indepence Day, India awaits the new dawn to mark new successes.