The reality is never pure and by no means easy. — Oscar Wilde
Because the Shehbaz Sharif authorities celebrates its first yr in energy, the air is stuffed with grand claims of saving Pakistan from default and stabilising the macroeconomic indicators. However beneath the floor of those assertions lies a bitter and twisted actuality, one which warrants a better examination.
The federal government’s boasts about avoiding default are, as a minimum, deceptive. The actual fact stays that Pakistan’s financial stability is essentially contingent upon the benevolence of worldwide lenders, significantly the IMF. Had the Washington-based lender not prolonged its mortgage facility, Pakistan would possible have defaulted.
It’s essential to recognise that Pakistan’s financial stability depends closely on exterior assist, relatively than attributing it to a change in managing the economic system effectively. Moreover, the slowdown in hyperinflation could be attributed extra to preserving the dollar-rupee parity below management and never permitting the free flight of USD from the nation.
Any individual can absolutely declare a pat on the again for stemming the tide of financial instability in the interim. Nonetheless, this non permanent respite does little to deal with the underlying structural points plaguing Pakistan’s economic system.
However what’s much more galling is the federal government’s choice to splurge on a large propaganda marketing campaign to tout its financial achievements. In a rustic the place thousands and thousands battle to make ends meet, the place poverty and starvation are rampant, it’s nothing wanting obscene to spend such huge sums on self-congratulatory adverts.
This cash might have been higher spent on very important public companies, reminiscent of healthcare, training and infrastructure improvement, or on supporting small companies and entrepreneurship. As an alternative, it’s being squandered on a misleading narrative that does little to deal with the actual challenges dealing with Pakistan.
The federal government’s promoting blitz is a basic case of placing lipstick on a pig. It could look fairly on the floor, however beneath the gloss lies a basically flawed financial technique. Somewhat than confronting the exhausting truths about Pakistan’s financial woes, the federal government is choosing a superficial resolution that can solely serve to paper over the cracks.
The crux of the issue lies in Pakistan’s incapacity to diversify its exports and cut back its reliance on imported uncooked supplies. Till this basic difficulty is addressed, Pakistan will proceed to teeter getting ready to default, perpetually beholden to the whims of worldwide lenders.
The federal government’s failure to sort out this difficulty head-on is a evident omission, one that can proceed to hang-out Pakistan’s economic system for years to come back – all the time discovering itself inches away from impending default.
As well as, the federal government’s financial insurance policies have finished little to deal with the problem of wealth disparity, which continues to harm the poor majority in Pakistan. The wealthy are getting richer, whereas the poor are struggling to even survive. It is a recipe for social unrest, and the federal government would do properly to take heed.
The federal government’s claims of financial salvation are little greater than a mirage. Somewhat than counting on intelligent advertising and marketing and spin doctoring, the federal government would do properly to give attention to implementing substantive financial reforms that handle the foundation causes of Pakistan’s financial woes. Solely then can Pakistan hope to interrupt free from the cycle of debt and default that has held it hostage for a lot too lengthy.
I’m completely disillusioned with listening to Shehbaz Sharif’s oft-repeated qitah, the final line of which suggests: Oh! soil of the homeland, let me rub my heels as I do know the spring will sprout from right here. Mr Prime Minister, all the nation is rubbing their heels and palms, day and evening, in utter frustration, however not even brackish water has burst out.
In the meanwhile, this verse by Ghalib actually displays the feelings of the plenty:
Hain kawakib kutch nazar aatay hain kutch,
Dete hain dhoka ye baazi gar khula