Imran Khan is discovering the transition from sport to office is tough
Charlie Mitchell
In mid-October last year, Pakistans cricket captain-turned-leader Ian Khan inaugurated a public housing project of epic proportions. As he reiterated his commitment to building five million homes, large crowds cheered their newly inaugurated prime minister, who swept to power last August promising a welfare state to lift millions of ordinary Pakistanis out of poverty.
But coming as it did shortly after Khan had approached the International Monetary Fund for an emergency bailout, global investors were less enamoured. The project made them wonder how serious Khan was about a potential austerity-driven economic rescue package Pakistans 13th such deal since 1980.
Their drop in confidence led to a freefall in the value of the Pakistani rupee, which shed more than 10 per cent, falling to a near-historic low against the US dollar.
This turn of events exposed a tension at the heart of the former cricketers government between building a modern welfare state and fixing Pakistans ailing, debt-ridden economy. Since that starry project launch in October, it now seems that fiscal imperatives have driven him to pursue the latter at the cost of the former.
Six months into his tenure, Khan experienced his most difficult week since taking office. On February 14, 40 Indian soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, reawakening an enduring divide over the contested province dating back to Partition, and the cause of two of three wars between India and Pakistan.
Although the Jaish-e-Mohammed extremist group claimed responsibility, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed Pakistan, which has long struggled to deal with militants operating within its borders. Amid the inflammatory rhetoric after the incident, an Indian general went so far as to suggest that double the number of Pakistani lives should be taken in return. Khan broadcast his own reciprocal warning, promising to meet fire with fire.
It marks a bleak chapter for the prime minister who promised to break new ground in the tumultuous relationship when he first came to power.
This is Khans first major foreign policy challenge, one that has naturally drawn the gaze of the world. But although it might not be the focus of as much attention, looming behind it is the equally perennial issue of fixing Pakistans many economic woes.
Addressing the World Government Summit in Dubai earlier this month, Khan warned that Pakistan needs painful economic reforms to slash its massive debt. Its like surgery, he told an audience that included IMF chief Christine Lagarde.
Last week he received a welcome reprieve when Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed to inject investments worth $20 billion. It was a fiscal stay of execution for Khan, granting him valuable time and confidence when he needed it most. However, it is not yet known whether the cash injection will affect the size or terms of an IMF package and tough, unpopular austerity measures remain inevitable. Meanwhile, Saudi aid comes with certain conditions: Riyadh has reportedly asked Islamabad to play a bigger role in the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition, which is led by former Pakistani army commander Raheel Sharif.
Khan is no political newcomer, having established his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in 1996 and contested a string of elections thereafter. But with no governing experience, his first few months have been marked by faux pas, mixed messages and U-turns.
His announcement of cutting back on profligate government spending by auctioning off his motorcade and transforming the ostentatious prime ministers residence into a university was eclipsed when it emerged he made his three-minute daily commute by helicopter. Members of his party didnt help matters by claiming it was cheaper than travelling by car. Meanwhile his proposals to induce growth by banning foreign cheese imports and crowdfunding to build a $14 billion dam in Pakistans north-east drew mockery.
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