Pakistan is about two months away from its elections - elections that are almost certain to be shrouded in controversy, one way or another. And, worryingly for Pakistan, it appears that the economy is weakening, just in time for the instability that might follow from the country's turbulent politics.

Under the outgoing government - led till last July by three-times prime minister Nawaz Sharif - the economy had appeared to be doing well. In fact, a new energy seemed to have infused Pakistan's entrepreneurs and investors; in the last fiscal year, the economy grew at 5.8 per cent, the fastest rate in 13 years. That now appears set to change.