- Looking back
Two is a trend, they say in the world of statistics, and more than once now PML-N has bagged a heavy mandate at the elections only to lose its way well before the completion of the electoral cycle. This time, at least, the government seems making it past the finish line, even if Nawaz Sharif fell short yet again. But of the main challenges that confronted it in ’13 – terrorism, energy, economy – has the ruling party made enough progress to ride the vote back to the House once again? Or are we still where we were five years ago; perhaps even worse?
Sure, PML-N wastes no opportunity in taking the credit for taking the war, finally, to the terrorists. But since people have short memories in politics, perhaps they need reminding that Nawaz’s number-one strategy early on was talking to the Taliban. That is when he appointed Sami ul Haq to negotiate, and the maulana in turn said, quite publically, that the Taliban were not fighting against the federation, but rather to save it, even as terrorist attacks continued and TTP took responsibility. Also, both Nawaz and then interior minister, Ch Nisar, were livid when a US drone took out TTP leader Hakeemullah Mehsud in Nov 2013. It was only after the attack on Karachi airport in June 2014 that the army put its foot down and launched Zarb-e-Azb, and the government duly fell in line.
As for energy, does anybody remember the mysterious, and not very legal, one time Rs500b odd payment to settle the circular debt? Why was it not audited? And who was the intermediary for the payment? And, far more seriously, why has it climbed back to Rs900b or thereabout so soon? If not PML-N, who is responsible and who will answer for this financial black hole? And, sure, the economy was not nearly anything to write home about when Nawaz became PM a third time, but after a 50.6pc increase in foreign debt and a record deficit, we are staring default dead in the face as PML-N bows out. Inflation too, which has been kind to the ruling party because of low oil, is rebounding with the state bank raising rates twice in the government’s last days. So, it’s not just energy, or the economy, but PML -N itself also , that has emerged weaker from the N league’s third time at the top.
