Poor man’s ‘Trump’ Imran Khan leading Pakistan into a sinkhole: Report

Washington: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan is a poor man’s ‘Trump’ as he is creating his own version of new truth about the political system, calling all his opponents thugs, declaring he was the only option to save the state, just like the former US President Donald Trump and is leading Pakistan into a sinkhole with a bunch of lies and myths.

The country continues to witness biased courts, a divided Army, controversial politicians, and a paralysed Parliament, US-based publication Global Strat View said.

As many as 70 per cent of the people in Pakistan live under the poverty line and the ongoing economic crisis in the country shows that the country is on the brink of collapse and heading towards a path like the economic downfall of Sri Lanka.

The country has a debt of more than USD 250 billion, as per United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The article read that the foreign reserves of the country fell to USD 8.24 billion leading millions of people into poverty and increasing the threat of social unrest.

Political uncertainty has been on the rise which was evident during the bye-elections in the Punjab province.
Pakistan Muslim League’s (PML-N) Hamza Sharif was sworn in as Chief Minister, only to be de-seated by the Supreme Court the next day, and PTI-backed Chaudhry Pervez Elahi of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) was declared elected, it added.

Notably, Hamza and Suleman, the sons of the incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, were booked by the Federal Investigation Agency in November 2020 under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Anti-Money Laundering Act.

During his three years in power, the former Prime Minister said that he was unprepared to run the government, and his team had no idea how to run the country while addressing public gatherings.

Imran Khan does not have any vision or a plan of action, the article read. According to critics, Pakistan started losing friends in the international community because of Khan’s ill policies.

Even friendly nations like China, Saudia Arabia, Turkey, and others are frustrated because Imran Khan tries to drag them into domestic politics for his support.

“Imran Khan is dragging the nation into mental and intellectual isolation. We supported Imran Khan in thin and thick, but the truth is that he failed to deliver,” a top Pakistani politician said.

“Honesty? I am sorry his honesty cannot bring food to the table. Why will the Army support him? He (Imran Khan) is unpredictable,” a former Army General said.

“When Pakistan was doing relatively better, the UAE and Saudi Arabia always helped Pakistan get out of short-term crises. But if you look back on the last few years, the Pakistani financial crisis has lingered on and on.

There is fatigue running among donors, supporters, and friends. How long will you be bailing out a country that doesn’t want to bail itself out?” former Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) convener and head of US-based advocacy group Voice of Karachi, Nadeem Nusrat said.

Former Pakistan Senator Enver Baig said that the country has to maintain good relations with all parties concerned, particularly the United States to build Pakistan’s economy, and Imran Khan’s outbursts against America do not help.

“If we see the big picture, the success of Imran Khan will be a big failure for the nation. If he loses in the coming elections, he will not accept it, and if he wins, he will not be able to govern,” a former top Pakistani diplomat in Washington said.