1. Economic crisis

In 2023, Pakistan saw new lows. The Pakistani rupee hit an all-time low, crossing the PKR 300 mark against the US dollar in August 2023. The country’s foreign reserves with the State Bank of Pakistan (SPB) also dropped to an alarming level — at $3.1 billion in January 2023.

The cash-strapped country struggled to unlock funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In a bid to secure one, the SBP hiked interest rate by 300 basis points (bps) to 20 per cent — the highest level since October 1996. The country introduced taxes after raising gas and electricity prices.

Pakistan Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth reached an all-time high of 38.0 per cent YoY in May 2023, as per the CEIC database. It was measured at 26.9 per cent YoY in October 2023, compared with a rate of 31.4 per cent in September. The inflation rose so much so that a litre of milk was being sold at over ₹200 in Pakistan.

In a bid to tackle inflation, a free flour scheme was launched in Pakistan, especially for the poor in the Punjab province under the Ramzan package. Around April-March, a deadly stampede in Pakistan’s Karachi killed over 10 people at a free food distribution centre in Pakistan’s Karachi.

Pakistan finally reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a $3 billion “nine-month Stand-by Arrangement (SBA)”. The executive board of the IMF will finally meet on January 11, 2024, to consider the final approval to hand out to Pakistan the next $700 million tranche of its loan program.

2. Imran Khan’s arrest triggers political drama

The crisis in Pakistan’s political arena was no less than the economic one. In May 2023, the country saw the arrest of a key political leader — Imran Khan, the cricketer-turned-political and former Pakistan Prime Minister. He was accused of corruption, unlawfully selling gifts from foreign dignitaries and leaking state secrets among several other charges. Khan was disqualified from contesting the upcoming general elections in Pakistan.

Massive protests and violence had followed Imran Khan’s dramatic arrest in Islamabad. Clashes were reported between police and Imran Khan’s supporters. Supporters of Imran Khan had also stormed the Pakistan Army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the Corps Commander’s residence in Lahore after the arrest.

Despite his arrest, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) announced that its founder and jailed leader Imran Khan would contest the 2024 general elections from at least three seats.

3. Pakistan Assembly dissolved, row over new poll date

In August 2023, Pakistan President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly at outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advice, marking an end to the government’s tenure and paving the way for the next general elections.

Following this, a caretaker government took over, and months later, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that the general election will be held on February 8, 2024.

The national elections were supposed to have taken place within 90 days of Parliament’s dissolution. However, the ECP said it needed time for the delimitation process after the latest census.

4. Nawaz Sharif makes a comeback!

In another dramatic move, former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan in October 2023 after a four-year self-imposed exile to lead his party in the general elections. He is the only Pakistani politician who became the prime minister of the coup-prone country for a record three times.

Nawaz Sharif is again gearing up to contest the 2024 elections from the Mansehra region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, his son-in-law Captain (retd.) Muhammad Safdar was quoted by PTI as saying. He could also contest from Lahore.

However, Nawaz Sharif faces a big hurdle as he remains disqualified from holding public office by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case, PTI reported. 

Earlier this year, amendments were made to the Elections Act, 2017 by the government led by Sharif’s younger brother and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif. In a significant move, the disqualification of lawmakers was limited to five years with a retrospective effect.

Following this, the Supreme Court decided to form a larger bench to determine once and for all whether aspirants disqualified can contest polls in light of the amendments in the Elections Act, 2017. The case is expected to be decided before elections scheduled to be held on February 8.

5. Terror attacks in Pakistan

Several terror and suicide bombing incidents rocked Pakistan this year. At least 271 militant attacks took place in Pakistan during the first half of 2023, resulting in the loss of 389 lives and injuring 656 individuals, news agency ANI reported, citing a statistical report released by the independent think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

In September, suicide bombings ripped through two mosques in Pakistan, killing at least 57 people. In July, over 40 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at a political rally. The Islamic State militant group, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had claimed responsibility for the July attack, Reuters reported.

Militant attacks in Pakistan surged since 2022 when a ceasefire broke down between the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella body of hardline Sunni Islamist groups.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Published: 23 Dec 2023, 06:01 PM IST