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The budget sidesteps difficult decisions

I am resuming my column after a gap of over ten weeks. Being entrusted the portfolio of information and broadcasting in the caretaker government, it was not possible for me to also remain editor of Pakistan Today. Seeing an obvious conflict of interest I also had to discontinue my column.

It was professionally a rewarding experience for me. Tasked with changing the perception game it was my job description to sensitize the stakeholders that elections will be held and on time. In my first meeting with the media I realized that there was widespread and all pervasive perception that elections will not be held at all and the caretaker government will somehow try to perpetuate itself.

Admittedly there were huge hurdles. Amid almost daily occurrences of widespread terrorism across the country, it was a formidable task to convince the media and other stakeholders that elections could be held in such an atmosphere.

Open threats by the TTP that elections were anathema to Islam and hence will not be allowed to take place did not help matters. For their wrath, the militants especially singled out liberal parties the PPP, ANP and MQM. These parties suffered at the hands of the terrorists and never had a level playing field compared to other rightist and centrist parties.

This factor severely hampered the PPP, MQM and ANP’s ability to campaign. But their poor showing at the hustings has more to do with their performance (or lack of it) during their five-year tenure.

Another big challenge was bringing the Baloch nationalists who had remained aloof from the election process back in the mainstream. When I visited the province within a fortnight of taking oath as information minister, I was pleasantly surprised that the caretaker chief minister Nawab Ghaus Baksh Barozai and the corps commander were on the same page in ensuring participation of the nationalists. It is a big plus for the caretaker government as well as for Pakistan that there is representative government headed by a respected figure like Dr Malik Baloch in Balochistan today.

In the aftermath of the general elections with a historic turnout and minimal violence on Election Day, new governments are in place at the federal level and in the provinces. There have been complaints of widespread rigging especially by the PTI and PPP.

But even those who are complaining got a piece of the pie. The PPP had to retreat to Sindh after being virtually routed in Punjab, while PTI in coalition with the Jammat-e-Islami is in power in KP. The PTI’s social media crowd after holding dharnas in the immediate aftermath of the elections has perhaps realized that despite not being able to conjure up a tsunami, as new kids on the block they have done not so badly.

Admittedly the Election Commission’s performance has left a lot to be desired. The octogenarian CEC might be a man of integrity but was certainly not up to the task. In his absence some of the members of the Commission were calling the shots. Their role was controversial to say the least.

By and large the caretaker government acquitted itself of its primary task – of holding fair free transparent and timely elections. All credit to the prime minster Mir Hazar Khan Khoso for achieving that goal.

However if he had remained focused on his job he would not have squandered away the goodwill he had earned. His 20-plus kith and kin ensconced in the Prime Minister House during the caretaker period, and some members of his personal staff especially the principal secretary and the military secretary, did not bring him a good name.

Ishaq Dar, the new finance minister, while responding to the criticism being levelled at the federal budget presented by him has appealed to the media: bear with us for a year. Senator Dar, a chartered accountant by profession, is not new to the job. And under the circumstances he has presented a good budget.

Unfortunately it is being labelled as a ‘business friendly’ rather than a pro-poor budget. The PML-N drawing its support from big business and the bazaar does not know any better. Its philosophy is that as soon as the engine of growth restarts and foreign direct investment (FDI) as well as local investment starts pouring in the lot of the common man will automatically improve.

Fair enough! But judging by the present mood – and the PML-N so assiduously nurtured it while in the opposition – people simply do not have the patience to wait.

Notwithstanding talk about ‘breaking the begging bowl’, Dar’s panacea meets the frontloaded conditionalities of the IMF. With the terms of the IMF package already negotiated by the caretaker advisor on finance, the PML-N should have a smooth economic sailing in the coming months. In any case the budget has met most of the IMF conditionalities.

Maladroitness and ham-handedness, apart from corruption had become the hallmark of the PPP government. The PML-N team headed by Nawaz Sharif is better grounded and focused on its job. Hence it will surely fare better than its predecessors.

However it will be a big mistake to assume the remedies of the 1990s when the PML-N was twice in power can be applied in today’s Pakistan. Grandiose projects like highways, bullet trains and ports sound impressive. But the common man wants immediate succour.

Honeymoon with an independent assertive and critical media will soon wear thin. Independent courts are another factor that Mian Sahib and his team will have to deal with.

The apex court has already taken suo motu notice of the taxation proposals being implemented even before the budget has been passed by the parliament. Undoubtedly the Sharif government faces a formidable task. The prime minister’s worried look says it all.

A perception is building up that the budget has failed to address concerns of the common man. After blaming the PPP (rightly so in most cases) for travails of the common man the ball is now squarely in the PML-N government’s court. It must have realized that there are no quick fix solutions to the humungous problems being faced by Pakistan. And a sluggish and non-performing economy is just one of them.

Load shedding, the biggest malaise hurting the man on the street will hopefully ease in the next few weeks with more water to generate hydroelectric power and by the government running its power generating capacity more efficiently.

The plan to clear Rs550 billion circular debt in 60 days sounds impressive. This will certainly ease the supply of electricity in the medium run.

But where the budget failed is in the critical areas, which if tinkered with would have hurt the PML-N’s traditional support base. In the first few months of the honeymoon period Prime Minister Sharif could literally have afforded to do so.

By virtue of the PML-N government choosing not to take the difficult route, one can safely assume: no matter how much things change they remain the same.

The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today.