The recently reported disclosure by the head of IMF mission in Pakistan that there is a deficit of 16.24 trillion rupees in the annual income and expenditure of the country largely due to massive thefts of electricity and writing off the bank loans is an alarming piece of news.
The prolonged dependence of generating power from imported fuel instead of hydel energy is in fact responsible for prohibitive power rates of Rs 16 per unit while the inhibition in building mega dams to produce cheap power at Rs 2 per unit is the prime motive for power theft.
This point has not sunk in the minds of our political rulers which is the main malady inflicting the economy of the country.
The IMF diagnosis of our financial troubles lies in power thefts and loan defaulters that have sucked the country dry. The IMF says that the 16.24 billion dollars deficit cannot be removed by more loans or rescheduling of loans but only by serious restructuring of the economic policies of the government.
This is however a moot point as it does not seem possible when a single person like DG of OGRA runs away with 82 billion rupees of public money and the govt so far has failed to apprehend him inspite of clear orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
