Amid a declining economy, Pakistan might face an imminent political turmoil for a prolonged period, especially during the early elections to Pakistan’s National Assembly.
Further, Shebaz Sharif’s foreign visit to Saudi Arabia adds to the burden of the economic woes of the people. He has brought a package of loans and concessional fuel supplies that further add up to the already piled up USD eight billion. He is also planning to find support from other nations like the UAE.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has resumed its talks with Pakistan for a bailout of USD six billion. However, the recent incident at the Masjid-i-Nabwi mosque in Saudi Arabia where pilgrims chanted slogans of “chor, chor” to the Shebaz Sharif-led delegation showed otherwise.
Noting that Islamabad needs to develop good ties with Washington, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also reported to say that Pakistan “cannot afford enmity” with the United States. This comes after, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has staged several protests across the country against the United States for an alleged “foreign conspiracy” to oust the country’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan from power who has been unseated after the no-confidence vote.
To bring home more financial aid to the economically-hit country, the newly-elected Prime Minister is also keen on visiting China’s Beijing in lieu of the recent terrorist attack in Karachi which killed three Chinese students at the Karachi University.
In addition, the Sharif regime can also begin trade with adversarial India. Supposedly, it would help diminish the current economical dependence of Pakistan on China because Pakistan is heavily indebted to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)
