PTI’s losing gambit

WHEN a political party decides that actively causing damage to the economy will somehow advance its interests, it needs to be urged to undertake a rethink. Such a strategy is most perfectly described by the saying about burning a country down in order to ‘rule over the ashes’. The PTI has adopted this strategy. Back in August 2022, we saw them try to scuttle an IMF programme at a critical juncture. The country was precariously perched on the very edge of default in those days, with the energy supply chain nearing breaking point as the foreign exchange reserves had plummeted to a level that could not finance even one month’s worth of import. A few weeks more and the beginnings of total shutdown of our society’s vital functions would have commenced. A country the size of Pakistan should never allow itself to come this close to the edge of catastrophe.