By: Asem Mustafa
Shehbaz Sharif is the new Prime Minister and his election came amid the chaos that gripped the nation for almost a month.
Former prime minister Imran Khan has left the office and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has resigned in totality from the national assembly.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi submitted his paper from PTI but after resignation of entire lot Shehbaz Sharif made his way to the slot with 174 votes to become the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan.
The ousted prime minister Imran Khan with over three and a half years faced enough challenges with foremost being the price hike and Covid-19 which he skillfully tackled bearing the brunt from opposition but at the end he was applauded by world for the steps he took to counter Covid-19.
Relief came in the form of electricity and fuel prices not long ago but the change was set in motion and the nation sees Shehbaz Sharif taking over as Prime Minister. Now the new Prime Minister has to face more or less the same challenges what his predecessor had faced as only Covid-19 is taking last breadth while on economic front the challenges remain the same.
The failing economy and the new tranche from International Monetary Fund are the two challenges that will have pledges from the new government. The national front has issues directly linked with the common man namely the availability of flour and fertilizers for the standing crop.
The stability in prices of the consumer matters namely food items can give a margin of relief to the new government. The international payments in the form of debts from China and other countries will require negotiations besides extension of time.
The falling Rupee against the Dollar is viewed as major threat for the international payements and resulting in the rise of the national trade deficit.
There has been a new charter presented by the political stalwarts of both Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and Pakistan People’s Party who earlier presented charter of democracy in the past and now pushing for the charter of economy.
The slogans of eliminating poverty, creating employment opportunities, food security and human development has been aired and harped for over seven decades and how much of this has been achieved needs to reviewed.
Pakistan has been in quagmire for decades and nothing visionary has happened over the years to turn the tables of the commoner who finds its day to day life sinking in misery.
The international reports have placed Pakistan is in the lowest of the indicators yet the nation has surplus of all where does all the surplus ends up needs to be investigated.
Nearly 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and this is a reality and no government over the years has given relief to take the masses out of poverty.
Last but not the least ‘beggars can’t be choosers’ tells it all. Time will tell where Pakistan stands in the comity of nations despite having nuclear capability and worlds sixth biggest army.