It's shameful for a nuclear power to beg for funds, says Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan has been reporting a food crisis, allegations of land grabbing by its army and and the rising incidents of terrorism have put the country on the back-foot. Its economy is a mess with forex reserves declining to USD 4.343 billion just enough to serve only three weeks of imports.

Islamabad, Jan 24: With Pakistan's economic situation facing severe headwinds, its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has now said that it is a matter of shame for a nuclear country to beg in front of other nations in order to fulfil the basic demands of its citizens. According to The News International, PM Sharif, while addressing the passing-out ceremony of probationary officers of Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), said it really embarrassed him to ask for further loans, adding that seeking foreign loans was not the right solution. He said that the loans would further escalate the worsening situation, amid the fact that it would have to be returned in a certain time period.

The statement comes days after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to extend a USD 2 billion loan to Islamabad. The Middle Eastern country also have pledged to provide an additional USD 1 billion as Pakistan struggles to recover from devastating floods this summer and a dire economic crisis.

A Pakistan English daily also pointed out while Pakistan is sliding deeper into economic crisis, Sharif is 'begging' the world for financial support, while India is 'progressing' day by day.

It is worth mentioning that Pakistan has been reporting a food crisis, allegations of land grabbing by its army and and the rising incidents of terrorism have put the country on the back-foot. Its economy is a mess with forex reserves declining to USD 4.343 billion just enough to serve only three weeks of imports.

According to the latest reports, the country has plunged into darkness, leaving nearly 220 million people without electricity for the second time in three months after a grid failure. Businesses and hospitals have been worst hit by the power outage. Several factories had down shutters on Monday. While the Minister for Energy Khurram Dastagir on Tuesday said that electricity has been restored fully at grid stations across the country, there are still major cities including Karachi, Lahore and Quetta where people are still deprived of power, the Dawn reported.

Journalist Haris Tohid said the power breakdown raised fears that 'a country with a fragile economy is heading towards a serious energy crisis in harsh winter'.

But even before this, the country has been battling with a power crisis. Two major outages were reported in October last year and they took more than 12 hours to restore.

Last July, the country reported unprecedented floods which ravaged large swathes of farmland. Stampedes and riots have been reported from several markets in three provinces - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan. Prices of wheat in these provinces have shot up to as high as PKR 3,100 for 20 kg bag (Rs 1,112 in Indian rupee) due to severe shortage, leading to stampedes as people want to stock whatever quantity they could lay their hands on. According to multiple local media reports, edible oil was sold at Rs 600 per litre even in the first week of August and ghee at nearly Rs 700 per litre. The situation turned grimmer after the deadly floods, wherein more than 2,000 people were killed and thousands went missing.

According to the reports, the government does not have much time to act as foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) are depleting at a rapid pace.

Pakistanis are now recalling those ominous words by Bhutto where he said that Islamabad would acquire nuclear even if it had nothing to eat.

Muhammad Usman, who describes himself as a nationalist Pakistan, in a tweet said that politically unstable and war-torn-Afghanistan manufactured a supercar but Pakistanis were waiting for a bag of atta. "...because we have 'Atom Bomb'. Should we eat that Atom Bomb?" he asked.

Mahey Nadeem, nutritionist, and dietician to be, posted Bhutto's complete quote and wished him a happy birthday. "We(Pakistan) will eat grass, even go hungry, but will get one of our own (Atom bomb)... We have no other choice!" Happy Birthday to the founder of Pakistan's nuclear program. #ZulfiqarAliBhutto."

With the looming crisis in the country, it is worth mentioning that situation in Pakistan is not 'alright' which begs the question, was this the path the country's leaders put it on?