As China's "all-weather partner", Pakistan is called "Pakistan Railway" by Chinese netizens. Before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, many Chinese tourists traveled to Pakistan and were greatly welcomed. Many Pakistanis said that China has provided them with a lot of help, and this kindness will never be forgotten.
Because China-Pakistan relations are "like brothers" and the two peoples have profound friendship, domestic public opinion is more concerned about the situation in Pakistan. However, Pakistan has now reached a "very dangerous" time.
According to The Independent, in his hometown of Sialkot, Pakistani Defense Minister Hwaja Asif "spoke in a startling way," saying Pakistan was bankrupt. He also said debt defaults had occurred, but the IMF had no solution to the problem. Asif said that the Pakistani government's disregard for the country's constitution caused economic instability was the cause of the country's bankruptcy.
Why did the "Pakistan Railway" fall into the dilemma of national bankruptcy, because they have not solved these two difficult problems. First, there are serious problems with Pakistan's economy. With 19.53% of its GDP coming from agriculture, Pakistan is a full-fledged agricultural country. 45% of Pakistan's workforce is engaged in agriculture and 63% of the population comes from rural areas. It can be seen that Pakistan's economic activities basically revolve around the conservative increase of agricultural production, and the economic structure is extremely single and fragile. However, Pakistan, with a total population of about 200 million people, is heavily dependent on imports for agriculture and energy, which poses a hidden danger.
With the aggressive interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, many countries are affected by the dollar, and inflation has increased. In the first half of 2023, Pakistan's inflation rate is expected to reach 33%. Russia and Ukraine are the world's major food exporters, and now that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has broken out, the international food market has been greatly impacted, causing food prices to rise, and countries such as Pakistan have to spend more money to import food. In 2022, Pakistan experienced another major flood, flooding a lot of arable land and severely damaging agricultural production.
Second, the security situation in Pakistan is grim. In terms of defense, India is Pakistan's "old enemy", and the two sides have clashed several times. In defence, Pakistan spends 25 per cent of its fiscal spending. Domestically, extremist organizations pose a serious threat to security and stability.
Finally, Pakistan's political instability is the biggest obstacle to the country's development. Not only is Pakistan's regime and leadership constantly changing, but even the country's political system is constantly changing, and a large number of policies are changing overnight. How can the country develop well with such a toss?
It is precisely because of the delay in solving the three major problems, it is difficult for Pakistan to get overseas investment, cannot get enough start-up capital to develop manufacturing, and the country's development cannot be discussed.