THERE is a political battle underway in Pakistan and it is being fought on multiple fronts, with multiple strategies involving multiple players. At stake is the very future of politics in this country. And driving the whole affair is an economy that has wallowed in stagnation for too long now.

Start with the economy, then follow the ripples outward as they travel through the political system. Back in the summer of 2022 the economy was overheating, a process that had begun a year earlier and was admitted to by the PTI’s Shaukat Tarin in public remarks made in the second half of 2021. Inflation was skyrocketing and foreign exchange reserves had hit near default levels by June 2022. The air was thick with doomsday scenarios if Pakistan should stumble into what people were describing as a ‘Sri Lanka-type situation’. Turbo-charged anxiety was surging from the economy out into the wider society.

Pakistan pulled back from the brink in August 2022 with a last-minute Fund programme, but lost the thread once again when Ishaq Dar came in as finance minister and deviated from the programme’s requirements. Once again, the country veered towards a catastrophic default until yet another emergency Fund programme in July 2023 pulled it back one more time. Two last-minute rescues in one year must be a record.

Since July 2023, the economy has been stable, with inflation extinguished and foreign exchange reserves rising steadily, from less........

© Dawn