Bajwa overpowering waning PM Imran as Pak Army unofficially tightens grip on Naya Pakistan

The Pakistan Army has unofficially tightened its grip on the country as Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's popularity falls due to the economic distress, high consumer prices, as well as corruption investigation of his close aides. According to Pakistan media reports, as the military is the most powerful institution in the country, an increasing number of retired and current military officials have been appointed in key positions, who are assisting the government's COVID-19 pandemic response. 

Recently, retired lieutenant general Asim Saleem Bajwa was appointed as Khan's communication advisor and to look after the implementation of about $60 billion in Pakistan investments as part of China's Belt-and-Road Initiative. The civilian government advisors including Member of Naya Pakistan Housing Program taskforce-- Zaighan Rizvi have also supported the military involvement. Meanwhile, two army officers were appointed last month. 

Read: Pakistan reports more than 100 coronavirus deaths in single day, cases cross 108,000

COVID-19 in Pakistan and economic distress 

On Tuesday, Pakistan, for the first time recorded more than 100 deaths in a single day due to COVID-19 which has infected over 108,000 people in the country. According to the Ministry of National Health Services, 105 deaths were reported on Monday as the total number of fatalities reached 2,172 in the country. It also showed that at least 35,018 patients have fully recovered from the virus. 

Read: Pakistan reports over 100 COVID-19 deaths; WHO cautions against lifting restrictions

Citing the COVID-19 crisis, the World Bank estimates on Wednesday revealed that Pakistan's economy would perform even worse than it was estimated earlier. Reportedly, the country's economy was likely to go into the red zone this fiscal year. Further, the economy may not even recover by next year, stated the report. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan has rejected the demand made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to freeze the salaries of government employees. According to international reports, sources close to the matter informed that the IMF urged Pakistan for spending cuts in the next budget during talks via video conferencing. However, Islamabad stated that it cannot cut the salaries of government employees as it is necessary to protect government employees and pensioners from inflation.

Read: Pakistan squirms at IMF's demand to cut salaries of govt employees; cites inflation

Read: Death toll from Pakistan building collapse rises to 22