Islamabad: Pakistan, which is due to receive USD 10 billion payout in coming months amid its faltering economy, is in soup over its shoddy past of corruption, reported Islam Khabar.

The burning question is -- given the generous donation of the international community, will Pakistan be able to redeem itself or default again and remain a global joke?

Its leaders are rejoicing as the country steps into its 23rd IMF programme and the ruling class is boasting of the achievement, as if begging for money accounts for economic growth, stated the report.

In its Global Crisis Risk Report, the World Economic Forum fears that Pakistan's institutions will be inactive and perjured within two years, reported Islam Khabar.

The rich will flee to their secure hamlets abroad and the poor will be left behind to pay off the accumulated debt, the report said, adding that the treasury is already empty.

Further, according to the report, the political tug of war has the flood victims on the brink of death and the rest of the nation in severe crisis.

PM Shebaz Sharif declared the international donors' conference in Geneva a 'success' and promised that every rupee pledged will account for flood victims as if somehow this will redeem his respect and goodwill among the public.

However, farmers swimming in the worst-hit areas of Sindh find it hard to believe that they would receive "even one rupee" of what is promised, reported Islam Khabar.

The rulers are already trying to bank votes in the name of these funds that are only pledged, not delivered, fooling people. They are building castles in the air, giving them hope for the money which will be remitted over three years, not immediately, the report stated.

For donors such as the Islamic Developmental Bank, which pledged USD 4.2 billion, pledge does not oblige them to commit a huge sum of money as it is not an agreement, the report said.

This fact and many such conditions on the USD 10 billion pledged, is probably a minuscule detail for the political leaders who have left out this information as it doesn't benefit their agenda, reported Islam Khabar.

Speaking to a national daily, former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail claimed that the "government is not only forcing us further into a debt trap but risks defaulting on repayment".

Pakistan already owes the world about USD 100 billion, USD 21 billion of which is due to be repaid to the creditors in this fiscal.

As 2023 unfolds, the nation is bound to repeat the vicious cycle of borrowing from one creditor to pay off another, only to buy more time to pay the original amount while slowly driving itself off the cliff, reported Islam Khabar.

Over the past three days, owing to a major power breakdown in major cities of Pakistan including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Quetta, the status of citizens has been reduced to that of animals and insects fighting on the streets for a morsel of bread braving the cold, the report read.

Reportedly 90 per cent of Karachi is without power.

People are running wild stealing wheat and pulses owing to inflation, the report said, adding that flour is disappearing from the storage hideouts where it was held to fetch higher prices in ignorance of the hungry population.

It wouldn't come as a surprise if national-level riots hit the streets tomorrow calling out fake promises of the unpopular government, reported Islam Khabar.