Infestation of political instability

Pakistan descended into a fresh round of political instability in April 2022 after Imran Khan, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, was removed from office through a vote of no confidence in the parliament. The polycrisis that ensued in the aftermath of his ouster took twists and turns but largely remained under control until last week when Imran Khan was arrested from the veranda of the Islamabad High Court, where he had arrived to attend a court hearing. Mr Khan was released through an order of the Supreme Court two days later, but the events that took place during those days threw Pakistan into a deeper abyss of political instability. While it is now established that political instability has adverse impacts on economic growth, the scale, intensity and transmission channels through which political instability casts its dampening effect on output/GDP growth are less known.