Beggars can’t be choosers
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government and the IMF finally came to an agreement over the bailout package that is desperately needed to resuscitate Pakistan’s economy. Despite all the claims of the new government that it would break the begging bowl, the inevitable has happened as Pakistan seeks help from the IMF yet again.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team have vehemently tried to portray that the IMF loan is in line with the PML-N government’s homegrown fiscal policies and that the IMF had not dictated its terms in the agreed bailout package. Dar said that the conditions upon which the loan programme is contingent are part of the reforms PML-N had set forth in its party manifesto and which were also evident in the recent budget.
This claim is false
The PML-N government should be honest with the nation. The elections of 2013 manifested the increased awareness of the people, who are in touch with ground realities. The
People’s Party’s government was voted out as the electorate was quick to recognize that the government had failed to deliver.
It is advisable that the government should refrain from making promises it cannot keep as this would only raise undue expectations. Also, people should not be kept in the dark about national issues that affect everyone, such as the real state of the economy. We have witnessed how the government has had to take tough fiscal measures, and will further have to in the future, in conformity with the reforms prescribed in the loan programme.
This is in sharp contrast to the dreamy picture that was being portrayed during the election campaign. The government should take necessary steps to educate the people about the current economic situation and the rationale behind the reforms that need to be introduced in order to achieve long-term economic growth.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan