WITH a war in the region, Pakistan has been at the centre stage of all conversations, negotiations and talks about and around the conflict. For this there has also been much praise and some heartburn (from some in the neighbourhood). However, Islamabad still needs to be careful; it continues to perform a tight rope balancing act domestically and internationally, as this conflict goes on. And if the hostilities continue, staying upright will be a trick and a half.

This is primarily linked to the country’s precarious economic situation and an ‘unpopular’ government struggling to gain a foothold with the people. And as some or many economic experts point out, there is little to fall back on if the world is facing uncertainty in terms of oil prices or other shocks. However successful this government may have been, as we are told continuously, in every aspect.

Consider the management of the petrol prices. The somersaults by the government have been quite remarkable. It began by being one of the first in the region to act decisively once the international prices went up by hiking the price by Rs55. At that point, the government defended its move by arguing that it was not possible to take any other decision, but for the next couple of weeks, it moved to a different tactic. The prime minister himself came on air to announce that he was not passing on the price, while a story in Dawn reported that he told his colleagues that he and the........

© Dawn