Pakistan economic woes go from bad to worse 5 months before national polls

Five months before national polls Pakistan’s government is struggling to fix its economy.

The South Asian nation of more than 200 million people devalued its currency in December and raised taxes in October to curb rising imports. Despite these moves both Pakistan’s current account and trade deficits are hitting records while foreign exchange reserves continue to fall.

Pakistan’s external sector indicators “signal a crisis and are going from bad to worse,” said Uzair Younus, a South Asia director at Washington-based consultancy Albright Stonebridge Group LLC. 

“With elections around the corner, the government will simply kick the can down the road. The next government