Bloodbath at PSX

AFTER the extended rout at the Pakistan Stock Exchange over the past few sessions, there are few doubts about how the PDM government’s management of the economy is being viewed on the street. Since last Friday, the benchmark KSE-100 Index has shed around2,000 points (about 5pc) due to panic triggered by the PTI’s decision to dissolve the KP and Punjab assemblies, as well as speculation that the government has missed the window to conclude negotiations with the IMF for the ninth review of its ongoing bailout programme. “The situation is bad. Nothing will change until the IMF’s ninth review is completed,” as one market pundit put it. He was describing Tuesday’s carnage, which saw about Rs200bn wiped out from market capitalisation. The situation is, indeed, quite bad and likely to continue to remain so thanks to our political leadership’s inability to act responsibly even when the country is in flames.