‘Shot ourselves in the foot’ – ex-PM of Pakistan on economic crisis

Nawaz Sharif says country’s woes should not be blamed on India, the US, or Afghanistan 

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif has blamed internal issues, including military interference in politics and governance, for the country’s deep economic crisis as he seeks another term as PM in next year’s general elections. Sharif was speaking at an event on Tuesday of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which is one of the two main opposition parties in the country.

He  pointed out that it was neither India, with which Pakistan currently has the worst diplomatic relations in a decade, nor the US that should be blamed for the country’s problems.  

“The state the Pakistani economy has reached today was not done by India, the US, or even Afghanistan,” Sharif told the news agency PTI. “We shot ourselves in the foot. The military imposed a government on this nation by rigging the 2018 polls, which led to the suffering of the people and downfall of the economy.”

Pakistan is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from British rule in 1947, with food and fuel prices soaring and a great chunk of the population falling below the poverty line. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July approved a $3-billion bailout for Pakistan to prevent it from defaulting on debt repayments. On Tuesday, the World Bank’s board of executive directors approved $350 million in financing for the Second Resilient Institutions for Sustainable Economy (RISE-II) operation, continuing to provide aid to the cash-strapped nation, Reuters reported.

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The three-time former Prime Minister (in 1993, 1999, and 2017) also blamed judges for “legitimizing” alleged military dictatorships in the country. “Judges garland [military dictators] and legitimize their rule when they break the constitution,” he claimed. “When it comes to a prime minister, the judges stamp out his ouster.” 

Sharif, 73, was referring to his own ouster as the PM thrice. Most recently, the military establishment removed him from power in 2017 to pave the way for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party Supremo Imran Khan to come to power. That year, Sharif was jailed on corruption charges, disqualified for life from holding public office, and eventually entered a self-imposed exile in London. A Sharif-led government was also overthrown in 1990 by Pakistani General Pervez Musharraf, who would go on to become the president of the nation. From 2000 to 2007, Sharif was in exile in Saudi Arabia.

Khan, who was sworn in as prime minister in 2018, was eventually removed from the post in 2022 through a no-confidence motion passed in the lower house of Parliament.

Sharif returned to Karachi in October this year to kick-start his party’s campaign ahead of parliamentary elections in January 2024. Earlier this month, the High Court in Islamabad acquitted Sharif in a corruption case related to the Al-Azizia steel mill, clearing the way for a fourth term in the country’s top position. Last month, the politician was acquitted in another corruption case linked to purchasing properties in London with ill-received money.