Economic fallout of political disputes

Every sensible citizen of Pakistan understands that democracy and human rights are closely linked, with democracy providing an environment that protects and realizes human rights, and human rights being essential to democracy. But when it comes to the practical side of fighting for their rights, there’s still much confusion for they completely forget the adverse effects of protests on the economy of their country.

The recent student protests that succeeded in removing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, battered the country’s economy, with losses estimated at $10 billion, according to Zaved Akhtar, president of the Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). For a country like Bangladesh to recover from this loss will take a long time.

Talking about the recent PTI protest, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that the protests caused huge economic losses. In the larger context, the economic losses were manifold; the country’s stock exchange market, which had crossed the historic mark of 99,000 points a few days back, lost 4,000 points in one day due to the chaos. According to the Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb the Final Call of PTI has cost the country 190 billion rupees per day — you may easily calculate the losses due to the three-day long protest.

Meanwhile, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Mohammad Jawed Bilwani, registering his concern, said the political turmoil has shaken the confidence of local businesspeople and foreign investors, who have also lost hope that the political crisis will ever be over. “After getting fed up with political uncertainty and economic issues, it is alarming that many businessmen are leaving Pakistan to set up their ventures abroad, thanks to a pleasant working environment with an uninterrupted supply of power, gas, water, etc.,” he said.

In short, economic factors play a much more prominent role when it comes to the consequences of protest, especially days long. Global evidence, especially from neighboring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, and India, prove that such protests cost up to 2 percent of GDP per year. These direct economic losses hit the growth of the economy hard. Pakistan can easily alleviate poverty and hunger if the same amount (loss in protests) is invested in the poor. Moreover, such protests shatter the investors’ confidence and, hence, lowers the level of overall investment.

Despite great potential for development, Pakistan is one of the slowest growing countries even in the South Asia region. South Asia’s economic outlook (2020) shows that Pakistan is the least growing country in the region with a growth rate of 1.9 percent compared to India (4.2 percent), Bangladesh (8.1 percent), Maldives (5.9 Percent), Afghanistan (3.9 percent) and Nepal (7 percent) in 2019.

Political parties, therefore, should consider such adverse effects of unruly protest before giving a protest call. initiating these activities. At a time when Pakistan faces several critical issues, unruly protest and other similar events is indeed a waste of time for politicians. So instead, they can sit together, irrespective of party affiliation to discuss the real socioeconomic challenges to improve the country’s economic prosperity. The politicians should ask what the country can do for them instead they should ask what they can do for the country.

The government should also advise relevant authorities to revisit their approach to deal with protests and strikes by the political parties. The revised political process requires developing a culture to deal with a problem quickly and honestly. A responsible political system is committed to creating a favorable environment for economic activity. It facilitates investments to stimulate economic activities – hence, economic growth. In such a situation, citizens have less invested in engaging in economic activities.

A decent way to protest is to express your views respectfully and without violence or property damage. You can participate in a peaceful protest by being mindful of others, avoiding actions that could escalate tensions or put people at risk, following the instructions of law enforcement officials, and maintaining a peaceful atmosphere. In short, A peaceful protest is also known as nonviolent resistance or nonviolent action.

The need to understand that the ruling party alone cannot bring positive changes in the country. Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, rightly puts it, “We cannot solve the world’s problems alone; we need collective action and collaboration.”