Serious Problems.

After weeks of high political drama, Imran Khan was ousted through a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) in the National Assembly of Pakistan by a foreign conspiracy of regime change as he claimed. He followed suit of all the previous Pakistani PMs whose terms ended prematurely and became the first-ever Pakistani Prime Minister to be ousted in such a manner. With him now gone, Combined Opposition Leader, Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was selected, and he took oath as the next Prime Minister and he got some serious challenges to face.

After some promise in 2021-22, the economy is back on a troubling track. Managing it will be a considerable challenge. Pakistan's expanding import-export balance, crippling debt, rupee's all-time low nosedive against the US dollar, sky-rocketing inflation, and shrinking reserves are key areas that necessitate immediate attention.

Pakistan, today, is a nation mired in mind-boggling debts and has millions of children who have no access to education, and millions more who are semi-educated and have no jobs. Its population is exploding and water, electricity and just basic cost of living and food prices have rocketed, so much so, that millions are being added to the below the poverty line, ranks.

Currently, Pakistan's inflation rate has accelerated to 13.37%: the second-highest in Asia after Sri Lanka, which recently declared bankruptcy and at present is embroiled in political turmoil. Moreover, as Pakistan repays loans to avoid burgeoning interest rates, the State Bank of Pakistan reserves have decreased by $190 million to $10.308 billion: enough to support approximately two months of imports. In addition, the rupee is trading at its lowest, and the bourse also witnessed one of the steepest drops in its history as it tumbled five percent in just over two months. Finally, commodity prices are also soaring, and the weekly sensitive price index that defines inflation is 15.85% up.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif faces a crucial few weeks when he must end fuel subsidies and convince the International...

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