The economic and political crises in Sri Lanka may offer a lesson or two for Pakistan. After a series of quick developments Sri Lanka’s embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has finally called to form a unity government. The political crisis that Sri Lanka is facing now is the result of a sustained mismanagement of the economy and a persistent disregard for democratic norms. Things took an unexpected turn when cabinet ministers and the central bank governor offered to resign. Stock trade also halted twice because share prices started plunging rapidly. Beset by all this, the president invited all political parties in parliament to accept cabinet posts. When a country finds itself in a situation of this severity, all parties must consider it a national need to work together for the sake of the country. Even if just one party is responsible for the mess the country finds itself in, all citizens expect their leaders – irrespective of their party affiliations – to think about their future generations rather than focus on the here and now.
Sri Lankans have come out on the streets and staged spontaneous demonstrations across the country in nearly all major cities and towns and villages. The president of Sri Lanka had opted for an all-powerful personal government that benefitted essentially his own political clan. He shored up his position by driving the country into an authoritarian dispensation. At the pinnacle of the crisis there was nothing but a long list of resignations including from the Central Bank governor. The benchmark share price index has plummeted so low that the debt-laden country can hardly afford it. Now Sri Lanka is struggling to pay for imports of fuel and other goods. A foreign exchange crisis has led to fuel shortages and that has landed the country in hours-long power cuts. A shortage of essentials is also forcing common citizens to come out in droves to protest against the government.
The Sri Lankan president did too little and too late. He glossed over the economic hardships that the people were facing and tried to contain the protests by imposing a weekend curfew and then a state of emergency, but to no avail. If a country of 22 million people can end up like this, just imagine what a country with ten times more population could face if such crises get out of hand. When governments fail to grapple with soaring inflation in a timely manner and the currency is devalued while the IMF is twisting your arms, what can the government expect from people other than demonstrations and protests? Sri Lanka’s expenditure has exceeded its income and its production of tradable goods and services has not picked up. One can hope that a national government manages to put things in order in Sri Lanka, but that will not be an easy task.