In the meantime, Pakistan is no loser to fulfilling the terms set forth by the IMF for the ninth review of its programme either. A prominent cause for concern is the mounting circular debt—which had reached Rs.4177 billion in December 2022—generated by the power sector. And with the IMF and WB’s resistance to funnel money into the economy, other state and non-state actors are also hesitating. The government must detangle politics from the economy as the fear of decreasing popularity and electoral loss often leads to unfavorable policies. Furthermore, working to ensure that our negative balance of payments is restored to become more export-oriented is perhaps the only way forward.
