On a slippery path.

It is from horse's mouth now that the economy is in dire straits. The Ministry of Finance in its monthly update, which incidentally comes ahead of its fiscal closure, has painted a very dismal picture of the economy. It unequivocally says that there are risks and the economy is not performing. Some of the salient features listed out to enlist the messy situation are inflation which is in the range of, at least, 34-36%, as well as a sharp slump of around 12% per month in foreign remittances. Perhaps, these two factors are owing to pestering instability for almost a year, and the lack of political cushion to breathe in confidence. Last but not least, the fact that Pakistan has been unable to subsidise the price spiral factor in food and petroleum products has made it a killing affair. With purchasing power at rock-bottom and economic growth dropping to less than a percentage point from around 5.6% is a telling tale of our institutional collapse.

The point is where we will go from here. The risks cited by the ministry are worth evaluating, as they are too serious to be brushed under the carpet while we go on to jot down a budget for...