Lahore: Pakistan’s elections on February 8 come after one of the most turbulent periods in the country’s history.
Around 127 million people will go to the polls on the back of a politically and economically choppy 20 months, dating back to the removal of the then-Prime Minister Imran Khan and his governing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party through a no-confidence vote in April 2022.
Since then, the country has endured riots and came perilously close to economic collapse.
It is faced with a large current account deficit and mounting reign debt payments pushing the country to the brink of a default, staved off only by a bailout from the IMF, with additional support from China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
While there has been some semblance of economic stability, these elections take place at a time of low economic growth and rampant inflation, which touched a multi-decade high of 37.97 per cent in 2023.
Politically, the past two years have been significant. There’s been the breakdown of previously close relations between the military and Imran’s PTI over foreign policy postures and military staffing practices.
Since the eruption of this conflict, Imran has rallied his supporters and publicly blamed the military high command, opposing parties, and the United States for conspiring to remove his government.
Things came to a head when in an unprecedented act Imran’s supporters protested outside, and in some cases attacked,
military offices and installations on May 9, 2023.
(360info.org) AMS
The writer is from Lahore University of Management Sciences