Efforts to overcome the econom­ic crisis faced by the country have not borne fruit in the sixteen months of the previous coalition government. The country was saved from bankruptcy by sign­ing a standby agreement with the IMF, but the expectations of halt­ing the high flight of the dollar and increasing the value of the ru­pee have not been fulfilled, as ex­pressed by the government, busi­nessmen, and people involved in foreign exchange transactions.

Instead, the value of the dol­lar against the rupee has contin­ued to depreciate both in the inter­bank and open markets. Dollars are not available for imports, causing the wheels of industry to grind to a halt. According to a report, due to the non-availability of dollars, Balo­chistan Wheel Limited and Satara Peroxide Limited have announced the closure of their plants. It should be noted that Balochistan Wheel manufactures steel wheels for small and large vehicles, trucks, buses, cars, and tractors. Sales of cars, bus­es, etc. have significantly declined, forcing them to halt production. On the other hand, a company with a large chemical manufacturing plant states that the plant will be closed for three weeks starting August 16 due to a shortage of raw materials.

In this context, the expectations of economic improvement from the caretaker government consist­ing of experts may prove to be true, and the process of economic recov­ery can start as soon as possible.

MUHAMMAD AMIN,

Kech.