Foreign policy and the economy were clearly not priorities for Pakistani opposition leaders Imran Khan and Tahir ul-Qadri when they launched mass protests to try to force Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from office. The heads of state of China, the Maldives and Sri Lanka have postponed visits due to the demonstrations that have caused political uncertainty, deaths and injuries and blocked roads in the capital. Business and investment deals that they were bringing would have gone a way to lifting the dismally low economic growth rate and lessen high levels of inflation and unemployment. It is as if the interests of the nation's people have been made secondary to those of the politicians whose job is to serve them.
President Xi Jinping's trip in the middle of this month was especially important. China is Pakistan's closest ally and perceptions of ties are harmed by Xi first visiting arch-rival India. Deals valued at US$34 billion were to have been signed, increasing Chinese investment by more than 10-fold. Most of the planned projects were in the transport and energy sectors, the latter being of particular interest to the business community; power cuts in urban areas can last 10 hours a day, with electricity production at times falling short of demand by as much as 40 per cent. Hundreds of factories have been forced to close, affecting exports and further raising the jobless rate.
The month-long political turmoil has tarnished an already damaged image. GDP growth has averaged just 2.9 per cent over the past five years, a level that is not adequately keeping pace with a population that now tops 186 million. High youth unemployment and poverty are fuelling recruitment to extremist groups that resort to violence to push agendas. The democratic process has been ignored by Khan and Qadri, leading to a political stand-off and speculation that the military will stage a coup - more than half of Pakistan's 67 years of existence have been under army rule.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Political stand-off harms Pakistan
Foreign policy and the economy were clearly not priorities for Pakistani opposition leaders Imran Khan and Tahir ul-Qadri when they launched mass protests to try to force Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from office. The heads of state of China, the Maldives and Sri Lanka have postponed visits due to the demonstrations that have caused political uncertainty, deaths and injuries and blocked roads in the capital. Business and investment deals that they were bringing would have gone a way to lifting the dismally low economic growth rate and lessen high levels of inflation and unemployment. It is as if the interests of the nation's people have been made secondary to those of the politicians whose job is to serve them.
President Xi Jinping's trip in the middle of this month was especially important. China is Pakistan's closest ally and perceptions of ties are harmed by Xi first visiting arch-rival India. Deals valued at US$34 billion were to have been signed, increasing Chinese investment by more than 10-fold. Most of the planned projects were in the transport and energy sectors, the latter being of particular interest to the business community; power cuts in urban areas can last 10 hours a day, with electricity production at times falling short of demand by as much as 40 per cent. Hundreds of factories have been forced to close, affecting exports and further raising the jobless rate.
The month-long political turmoil has tarnished an already damaged image. GDP growth has averaged just 2.9 per cent over the past five years, a level that is not adequately keeping pace with a population that now tops 186 million. High youth unemployment and poverty are fuelling recruitment to extremist groups that resort to violence to push agendas. The democratic process has been ignored by Khan and Qadri, leading to a political stand-off and speculation that the military will stage a coup - more than half of Pakistan's 67 years of existence have been under army rule.
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