ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s new government led by prime minister Imran Khanfaces myriad challenges. The cricketing icon turned politician will have tomake hard choices, and quickly.

Here is a rundown of the biggest hurdles Pakistan is facing:

*Economy*

Analysts have warned the new government will have to act fast as thecountry teeters on the verge of a balance-of-payments crisis.

Khan’s likely new finance minister, Asad Umar, has said they will decide bythe end of September whether or not to go to the International MonetaryFund (IMF) for the country’s second bailout in five years.

But the US, one of the IMF’s biggest donors, has raised fears Pakistancould use any bailout money to repay debts to China, a suggestion Pakistanhas refuted.

The budget deficit has grown steadily over the past five years, and foreigncurrency reserves have declined. The rupee has been repeatedly devalued,fuelling inflation.

Khan has vowed to improve trade with India, increase the ease of doingbusiness and boost tax collection.

But the state of national finances could also undermine one of his mostpopular promises, his “Islamic welfare state”, based on increased spendingon education and health.

*Extremism*

Security has dramatically improved across Pakistan following a crackdown onmilitant groups in recent years.

But analysts have long warned that Pakistan is not tackling the root causesof extremism, and militants can still carry out spectacular attacks.

That includes during this election season, with a string of bombings atpolitical events killing more than 200 people, including thesecond-deadliest militant attack in Pakistan’s history.

The new prime minister, who earned the nickname “Taliban Khan” over hiswillingness to hold talks with the militants, increasingly catered toreligious hardliners throughout the campaign.

This has spurred fears extremists may be emboldened under his leadership.

*Population growth*

Conservative Pakistan, with its limited family planning, has one of thehighest birth rates in Asia at around three children per woman, accordingto the World Bank and government figures.

That has led to a fivefold increase of the population since 1960, nowtouching 207 million, draft results from last year’s census show.

The boom is negating hard-won economic and social progress in thedeveloping country, experts have warned. Analysts say unless more is doneto slow growth, the country’s natural resources will not be enough tosupport the population.

To add to the problem, discussing contraception in public is taboo inPakistan.

Khan has not taken any clear stance on family planning in the past, and itremains to be seen how his government will tackle population growth.

*Water shortages*

Pakistan is on the verge of an ecological disaster if authorities do noturgently address looming water shortages, experts say.

Official estimates show that by 2025 the country will be facing an”absolute scarcity” of water, with less than 500 cubic metres available perperson — just one-third of the water available in parched Somalia,according to the UN.

Political initiative will be essential to building infrastructure toreverse the course of the impending crisis. There is also little in the wayof public education on water conservation.

Khan has a relatively good track record on the environment, with the”Billion Tree Tsunami” tree-planting programme in his party stronghold ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa province earning acclaim from environmental groups.

Whether he can translate that experience to a nationwide water conservationprogramme is not yet clear.

*Civil-military relations*

Pakistan has spent roughly half its nearly 71-year history under militaryrule, and the imbalance of power in between civilian governments and thearmed forces has long been seen as an impediment to democracy and progress.

Hope surged in 2013 as the country saw its first-ever democratic transitionof power.

But since then, experts have warned of a “creeping coup”, fuelled bytensions between the generals and three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, largelyattributed to his desire to assert civilian supremacy and seek warmerrelations with arch-rival India.

Sharif, ousted in 2017 and arrested for corruption in July, has said he andhis party were targeted by the military. It denies the allegations.

Khan, who has already made overtures to India, insisted in parliamentFriday that he had been elected without any help.

“I am standing here in this parliament on my own feet,” he said.

He will have to meet the country’s challenges without upsetting thisdelicate balance of power. – APP/AFP