A bankrupt economy.

With no quick fix solutions According to latest figures released by the government, trade deficit is falling sharply and inflation barely rose 0.4 per cent in the past five months since the PTI government assumed power.

Even exports showed modest growth of 5.48 per cent during the period.

This is all welcome news. Nonetheless deeply alarming fundamentals of the economy cannot be simply swept away.

It is much too soon for Khan and his economic team to pat themselves on the back. There are serious macro and micro issues afflicting the economy that need immediate fixing.

Decisions like whether to go or not for an IMF (International Monetary Fund) bailout remain in a limbo. As if there is a viable alternative, the prime minster is yet to make up his mind.

On the other hand finance minister Asad Umar claims that the country is now better placed to negotiate with the IMF. But unfortunately close advisors like former apparatchik of the finance ministry Dr.

Ashfaq Hasan Khan is counseling the prime minister that if the country goes for another IMF program he will lose the next election just like his predecessors. The government should decide one way or the other.

The present uncertainty is sapping market confidence and the government's own ability to turnaround the economy. Meanwhile vital statistics of the economy do not paint a very rosy picture.

Take the case of our foreign exchange reserves. They stand at US$ 7 billion (with SBP), barely enough to cover a month's imports.

According to erstwhile spokesman on the economy Dr. Farrukh Saleem they stand at US$11 billion in the negative.

He claims that in reality we have been left with zero dollars. The hapless doctor might be disgruntled at the humiliating manner he was shunted out.

Nonetheless there is a kernel of truth in his arguments. For example US$200 to 250 million is required every week to cover imports and debt servicing payments.

This translates into US$1 to 1.5 billion a month.

In other words the injections from Saudi Arabia, UAE and possibly China are being depleted faster than they are being received. Both international credit ratings agencies Moodys and Fitch and even the World Bank have downgraded the economic prospects of the country in their most recent reports.

GDP growth rate has been downgraded to less than 4 per cent and serious reservations have been expressed about the general health of the economy. The bottom line is that the country is virtually bankrupt.

The PTI's...