It is hard to take issue with the permeating perception that the people are flummoxed and infuriated over the snow-balling deterioration in their economic situation, the burgeoning political instability, precarious law and order situation in the country and more so the inability of the government to mitigate their ordeal. It is in the backdrop of this scenario that the demands for change in the government and mid-term polls or fresh polls which have been resonating for quite some time.
Pakistan today has an internal debt of Rs 4959 billion whereas its external debt liability is in the vicinity of US$ 54.8 billion. The budgetary deficit ranges from 6.3-7% of GDP. That indeed is a very precarious economic scenario and probably the root cause of the economic melt-down.
A similar economic aberration in the Western countries caused a massive economic recession which hit many vulnerable European nations like Greece who had to be rescued from total collapse through US$ 60 billion rescue package by Euro zone countries and IMF.
Pakistan unfortunately is not in a position to muster that kind of financial support. It does need IMF and US support to off-set some of the negative fall out from the massive budgetary deficit that it is faced with. However, it is an inescapable reality that it will also have to adopt the same formula that has been put in place by the European countries, i.e., drastic cuts in the government spending and expanding the tax base that may further hit the common man.
Those who are trying to pressurise the government against expanding the tax base and continuing giving subsidies on oil to mitigate the sufferings of the people are actually playing to the gallery with a view to gain political mileage in complete disregard to the economic realities.
Fresh and mid-term polls are not the plausible solution to our woes. It may result in a change of faces but it certainly cannot automatically fix the volatile economic firmament or tackle other challenges. The country needs an impregnable unity among the political entities and a collaborative effort in removing the systemic maladies. Fighting terrorism and curbing the fissiparous tendencies in different regions of the country also require an undivided focus of all the political forces.
MALIK MUHAMMAD ASHRAF
Lahore
