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Pakistan’s new Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, is no stranger to fighting political battles.
He was ousted in a military coup the last time he led a government, and sent into exile for eight years before making an unprecedented political comeback.
But as he started the first full day of his third term on Thursday, the major tasks in his in-tray were impossible to ignore.
The country faces a series of daunting problems, from crippling power cuts to the Taliban insurgency, while Sharif must also balance an uneasy relationship with the powerful military.
Energy shortage
Political analyst Rasul Bux Raees says the energy crisis, which has interfered with industrial growth and people’s everyday lives, will be at the top of his agenda.
Power cuts can last up to 18 hours in a day.
The country does not produce enough electricity, and many users, including senior government officials, do not pay for what they consume.
Officials said years of mismanagement and a lack of new investment has led to this chronic energy shortage, which, according to some estimates, has cut gross domestic product (GDP) by around 4 per cent.
Sharif said in his election campaign that he would turn the crisis around within two years. Local media reported that his advisers have been meeting with officials from the power sector in recent weeks.
“Another important issue would be to heal the economy and make reforms,” said Pir Zubair Shah, a New York — based Pakistani analyst.
Sharif might favour more privatisation, he said.
Last year, GDP grew 3.7 per cent in a country which needs economic growth to at least keep pace with the rapid rise in population.
Weak economic growth, a sliding currency, and shrinking foreign exchange reserves all add to the economic woes.
In dire straits
In 2008, the Government borrowed some $11 billion from the International Monetary Fund to avert a balance of payments crisis. It still owes the IMF more than $4 billion.
On Wednesday, Sharif described the economy as being in a “very bad state, beyond imagination,” and analysts have warned that Pakistan will very soon need to borrow more money to avoid another crisis.
Analysts said that being an industrialist has given Sharif greater acceptance from the country’s business class, and puts him in a better position to handle the economy.
“I think whatever he has promised to the people in the election like ending corruption, making appointments on merit, and starting infrastructure projects, et cetera, to create jobs, he can turn around the country within a year,” said Shahid Hassan Siddiqui, a financial analyst.
Get people to pay taxes
“Sharif will also have to get Pakistan’s elite, which he’s a part of, to start paying their taxes,” said Arif Rafiq, a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
“Foreign governments and international aid agencies no longer want to give Pakistan handouts. Sharif will have to expand Pakistan’s tax net, so it can pay its own bills,” Rafiq said.
But Pakistan and Sharif face more than just economic problems.
Taliban insurgency
The Taliban militancy in the troubled north-western region is another key issue with regional and international ramifications.
In the run-up to the elections, Sharif said he would promote talks with the Taliban, for which he has approached a few clerics who are believed to have sway over some Taliban groups.
This idea suffered a blow after a US drone strike killed the Taliban deputy leader Wali ur Rehman at the end of last month, prompting the rebels to denounce the talks.
Taking the military along
Similarly, Sharif also faces a challenge in the civil-military relationship in a country where the army has ruled for half of its history.
Some analysts believe Sharif was ousted by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999 primarily because of his mishandling of the army.
The army remains resistant to civilian control, analysts say.
On Wednesday, local media reported that on his way to the presidential palace for the oath — taking ceremony, Sharif’s convoy was stopped to let the army chief go ahead.
“Whether it was a mere coincidence could not be ascertained,” Dawn news web site reported.
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