EFSAS STUDY PAPER - Bailout Politics - Pakistan’s Economy and the IMF

5 | May 2024 Bailout Politics Pakistan’s Economy and the IMF Bailout Politics | Pakistan’s Economy and the IMF 2 Bailout Politics | Pakistan’s Economy and the IMF Introduction Faced with structural weaknesses in the economy, long-term balance of payment issues, and external shocks, the incoming Pakistani government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has once again turned to support from the Internat. [...] Agriculture was the backbone of the Pakistani economy, employing the majority of the workforce and contributing significantly to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). [...] 1999-2008: The Musharraf years Following the defeat in the Kargil War, the relationship between the military establishment and the civilian government of Nawaz Sharif began to rapidly deteriorate, culminating in General Pervez Musharraf staging a coup d’etat in 1999 and re-establishing direct military rule. [...] A case in point were the intensification of counterterrorism operations in North and South Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the granting of significant “staging and overflight support” for American air force and drone operators, including through the lease of an airfield in Balochistan to the CIA (Haqqani, 2016, p. [...] In the months following the siege, Pashtun Jihadi leaders gathered in the FATA and held a Shura (Pashto for council) that culminated in the founding of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).