The banks are laughing their way to the…. well, bank.
How?
Well, our hardworking finance minister’s fetish for impressive-looking statistics forces him to do a lot. No, were not talking about fudging the figures (at the moment) but are talking about the bonds that the government has recently issued.
The sale certainly has brought some money into government coffers but the interest rates at which the been issued are so exorbitant that the banks have put in a substantial amount of their money into them, leading to a liquidity crunch; there doesn’t seem to be enough money to go around, specially for the private sector.
A senior government leader was heard saying (privately) that Dar might be a good accountant but he’s a pretty short-sighted finance czar.
*****
Imran Khan, the boy who would be king, was in Lahore for the first time after the judicial commission quashed his petition regarding the alleged rigging in the general elections of ’13.
He was hosting a lunch for journalists and pundits at a local haunt. He was late, owing to peculiar weather conditions regarding his flight. When he finally did reach the event, the subdued fellow didn’t seem to have much fire in his belly. The journalists had already eaten before he’d arrived, so there was little interest in his repetitive spiel.
Afterwards, the Khan had lunch himself with a small group of party members at a restaurant appropriately named “Chameleon”.
