Morning after

The mood in Pakistan changed swiftly following the nuclear tests, from what was dubbed as "euphoria" into today´s uncertainty and fear, which have escalated as the extent of the economic crisis has become evident. Economists, who had long been warning of this day, found their predictions coming true rather earlier than expected, thanks to the Nawaz Sharif government´s decision to retaliate against India´s misguided show of brute nuclear strength.

The anxiety caused by the imposition of emergency and the freezing of foreign currency accounts has only exacerbated since. Ironically, it was the first Sharif government which had allowed the opening of foreign exchange accounts in local and multinational bank branches in Pakistan. Back then, the warnings of newspaper columnists and economists that this step would eventually backfire in the faces of those who fell for it went unheeded as the government assured potential forex depositors that their money would be safe.
The second coming of Nawaz Sharif has, unfortunately for those who trusted him, proved these warnings correct. But in Pakistan, it is always the big fish who manage to slip through the net, and so it was that those with huge dollar or pound sterling accounts were able to withdraw thousands of dollars through backdated transactions on the very eve of the accounts being frozen.