Evinced of power in April, the former cricket star threatens to drop the government, while the country sinks into the crisis.
by
Rarely Pakistan has also been politically divided and economically weakened. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, ousted from his chair on April 10 after the vote of a motion of distrust of the deputies, does not recognize his defeat and brings together gigantic crowds of supporters to demonstrate that he remains the elected official of the people . It requires the dissolution of the National Assembly and early elections. The former cricket star continues to argue that he has been the subject of an international plot and accuses the United States of having dismissed him from power and of having allied to the “pourilles” of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif and Bhutto-Zardari families. His anti -American rhetoric and anti -corruption has galvanized his supporters.
Wednesday, May 25, ignoring the ban on the gathering issued by the authorities, he organized throughout the country a “march of freedoms” which reached, the next day, the capital, Islamabad. Clashes have taken place in several cities in the country. Despite a lower mobilization than expected, Mr. Khan threatens, if general elections are not announced within six days, to return with two million people and to bring down the “imported government”, installed by a “foreign conspiracy “. The army had been called upon to protect official buildings in the capital.
His successor, Shehbaz Sharif, has no intention of yielding. In front of the lower room of the Parliament, the Pakistani Prime Minister explained, Thursday, May 26, that he would not be dictated the date of the elections by Imran Khan, that he accuses of wanting to trigger a civil war. The deadline for the holding of legislative elections is set at October 2023.
increase in fuel prices
Shehbaz Sharif has to face an economic situation in the very degraded country, which evokes in several respects the bankruptcy of Sri Lanka. The country of 227 million inhabitants, weakened by the COVID -19, is experiencing a debt and record inflation, a contraction of its currency compared to the dollar and a reduction in exchange reserves – 10.1 billion dollars (9, 4 billion euros), just enough to cover two months of imports. Like Sri Lanka, Pakistan risks failure to pay for reimbursement of its debt for the second time in its history.
The talks conducted from May 18 to 25 in Qatar between Islamabad and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to unlock a new branch of a loan of $ 6 billion concluded in 2019, ended without success, despite “Notable progress” underlined by the monetary institution. The IMF is asking Shehbaz Sharif Sharif painful reforms, in particular the abolition of fuel and electricity subsidies set up by Mr. Khan’s government in February and which are involving finances. The country suffers from a structural taxation of the tax. The government fears to cause anger of the inhabitants, who already undergo the inflation of food prices.
You have 35.98% of this article to read. The continuation is reserved for subscribers.