Pakistan is experiencing multiple crises at once, both at its core and its periphery. The protracted concerns of political instability, economic recession, nation-building anxieties, and threats to security have combined into what many commentators have termed the state’s polycrisis. As 2024 draws to a close, many Pakistani citizens worry about the unstable status quo in the country and what the future holds. The problem is particularly animated by the common citizen’s severe loss of faith in the ruling elite’s ability to lead the country out of this crisis. Whether 2025 brings economic and political stability in Pakistan would depend on whether the elite have learnt from past mistakes and have the wherewithal to carry out much-needed reforms.

Pakistan’s Core Concerns: Economic and Political Instability

The economy has remained Pakistan’s biggest challenge. Opposed to introducing key structural reforms needed for the country’s economic revival, including land reforms, widening the tax base and reducing wasteful government spending, successive Pakistani governments have chosen the easy way out: turning to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In September 2024, the IMF approved a USD$7 billion bailout package to stabilize Pakistan’s dwindling financial resources, marking the country’s 25th program. The country’s continued dependence on international financial institutions like the IMF and inability to meet even its targets sheds doubt on the elites’ initiative to prioritize the much-needed reforms required to overhaul the economy.

As 2024 draws to a close, many Pakistani citizens worry about the unstable status quo in the country and what the future holds. […] Whether 2025 brings economic and political stability in Pakistan would depend on whether the elite have learnt from past mistakes and have the wherewithal to carry out much-needed reforms.

As the country was in the throes of economic turmoil, Pakistan went to the polls in February to elect a new government, hoping to usher in much-needed stability. But the electoral outcome put the country in a state of further chaos. Elections empower people, ensure popular representation, and allow the electorate to channel their frustrations into effecting change by challenging incumbents and putting alternative political parties and leaders in their place. However, Pakistan’s elections failed on all three counts. In the months leading up to the polls, the common belief was that Imran Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), would not win given that Khan and many of his party colleagues were behind bars. However, the election results upended the establishment and aligned political parties’ narratives as the PTI secured the largest number of seats in the parliament. While the ruling coalition and establishment reject claims of political interference, on-the-ground reportage, discrepancies in results, admittance of rigging by some officials, and

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