Imran Khan is set to take charge of a country riven by extremism and crippled by debt. Can he turn it around in the face of an all-powerful army?
Asad Umar, expected to be Pakistan’s next finance minister, is a tall but reticent man. Known for his sardonic tweets, the bespectacled former chief executive of Pakistan’s largest corporation and the chief economic advisor in Khan’s inner circle, came up with a widely shared one-liner on Election Day last week, hours before polls had even closed.
“Pakistanis have won the toss and elected to bat…”
Umar’s confident cricket reference, which went viral, was clearly to his own Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ’s election symbol, the ubiquitous balla [cricket bat], and its most famous bearer in the history of the country.
But while prime minister-in-waiting Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi had taken the same decision—to go to bat, and very successfully—exactly 26 years and four months ago at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the 1992 World Cup final against England, his historic win in Pakistan’s 10th general election last week—clearly up there as one of the more exciting instances in the charged history of this raucous republic—is also a moment of reckoning.
Simply put, Pakistan is not doing too well, and Khan’s got his tasks cut out for him. According to Bloomberg, its tanking economy, slowing to 5.2 per cent growth—with surging imports and debt, a balance of payments crisis thanks to a current account deficit of almost 50 per cent, the worst performing stock market globally last year, the fastest dropping reserves in Asia (which have hit a three-and-a-half year low) consistent devaluations (four since December), foreign direct investment barely moving (0.8% to $2.77 billion for FY18, hardly an increase), a water and power crisis that cannot be solved by less than an infrastructural miracle, and rampant unemployment in an increasingly young and uneducated country.
This story is from the August 13, 2018 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 13, 2018 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Sporting Q+A Fella
IN NETFLIX’S VIJAY 69, ANUPAM KHER PLAYS A 69-YEAR-OLD WHO DECIDES TO COMPETE IN A TRIATHLON. THE ACTOR TALKS ABOUT WHY HE CONTINUES TO CHALLENGE HIMSELF
Museum Under the Sky
Photographer Ahtushi Deshpande's passion project, Speaking Stones documents the threatened rock art of Ladakh
Reclaiming Our Archives
Sumana Roy contests the negative connotations regarding provincials in this thought-provoking book
TRAVEL AND ITS DISCONTENTS
Shahnaz Habib's Airplane Mode is asensitive dive into the complex and contentious activity that modern-day travel has devolved into
CELEBRATING WORDS
The sixth edition of the Dehradun Literature Festival promises a convergence of literature, cinema and societal issues
MORE THAN A FILM FESTIVAL
The 13th edition of the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) is being held November 7-10 at McLeod Ganj in Dharamshala.
HOLDING THE FORT
PANORAMA EDITIONS, AN INTERNATIONAL ART SALON CURATED BY ARTIST SARAH SINGH, RETURNS WITH A UNIQUE THEATRICAL STAGING AND EXHIBITION IN GWALIOR
A HOMECOMING OF SORTS
Indian contemporary artist Subodh Gupta’s exhibition The Way Home pays homage to Bihar, where his roots lie
Art and the City
Mumbai's leading art fair, Art Mumbai, returns to the iconic Mahalaxmi Racecourse, promising a \"bigger, brighter, and more inventive\" experience for art enthusiasts with a thoughtfully curated display of modern and contemporary art from India, South Asia and beyond.
PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS AN OLD MAN
At 99 and still painting, Krishen Khanna is one of our most venerable artists ever