The road ahead

After more than a week of chaos, Pakistan’s parliament has voted in the PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister; the PTI decided to resign en masse from the National Assembly just before the election. As Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chooses his cabinet and attempts to satisfy all the parties which make up the new coalition, the most important post will be that of finance minister. Pakistan’s crumbling economy has left the country in a precarious position. In the past 45 months, the country has witnessed a widening deficit, rising inflation, depreciating rupee, declining exports and rising imports. Though the stock exchange has already demonstrated an uptick, there is a lot left to ensure investors’ confidence in the market. Among the many economic challenges is the large fiscal and current account deficit. Beyond this, the new government will also need to resume negotiations with the IMF.

PM Shehbaz will also need to deal with the foreign policy mess left behind by former PM Imran Khan, especially the severe jolt dealt by the ‘foreign conspiracy’ accusations. This will need to be tackled head-on. Possibly the trickiest task is the extremely polarized society Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has inherited. Political discourse has become alarmingly toxic and the fraying social fabric of Pakistani society will need a healing touch. Some of that may be helped by putting an end to the increasing violations of fundamental rights. Censorship and curbs on the media were a hallmark of Imran Khan’s government. It is important for the new government to listen to what journalists have been saying for the past four years at least: laws that violate the basic right to freedom of speech must be done away with; the power of the purse must not be used to target the media; and regulation must be made independent of the government. This would be the best first step towards ensuring a country that is not afraid of the truth. The question of abductions and forced disappearances too must not be overlooked.

In a sense, what is needed from the new government led by PM Shehbaz Sharif is a complete reset of the country. This is why Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s first speech in parliament after having been voted in was a relief. There was no glee in having ousted a government nor any claims to exact revenge. Instead, he thanked all those he said had stood for the constitution. He talked about mending the economy, improving investment opportunities, increasing minimum wage and pensions, and taking foreign policy in the right direction. In stark contrast to the previous government, Prime Minister Shehbaz announced he would be restoring the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to its original name. The PM spoke about Punjab not being representative of all of Pakistan. This is an encouraging sign for a country where smaller provinces and the ‘peripheries’ have for too long felt slighted. Most importantly, the new PM has also said that he will move to hold an in-camera briefing of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security to determine the reality of the ‘letter’ the PTI government claimed was a foreign conspiracy to oust Imran Khan. This should be done as soon as possible, given our precarious foreign policy situation.

The past few years’ disruptive politics has put our entire democratic norms in jeopardy. Contrary to the PTI government’s legacy, the new government needs to show real commitment to human rights, media freedom, an end to selective accountability, and a new commitment to unity in diversity. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s most nerve-racking test may be an angry Imran Khan, armed with a potent slogan and out on the streets rousing not just anti-Americanism but also a dangerous narrative of disloyalty and treason; we saw a glimpse of that in the well-attended protests on Sunday night. PM Shehbaz has spoken of the need for dialogue not deadlock – it is unlikely the PTI will heed this call, but the government will need to keep trying if the country is to move forward in peace. This is an opportunity for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to graduate from an administrative mode of a provincial level to a policy mode of a federation. This will no doubt be a tough job – and the nation will be watching closely.