- Time to work
Lost in the noise about election boycott, recounting, long hand of the establishment, and everybody bending over backwards to clinch the government in Punjab is the precarious, deteriorating security and economic situation of the country. And, since political uncertainty is the ideal catalyst for both financial and security problems, there is an urgent need to get over with the election business, finally, and move on the next phase of forming governments in the centre and provinces. With the vote count dragging needlessly for days, and threats of a complete boycott raising eyebrows at home and abroad, and even now political game-scoring underway to settle Punjab, the entire electoral structure gives the look, more often than not, of an ad-hoc, ill-prepared arrangement at best.
Imran did the right thing early on by ruling out any political vendetta, offering himself for accountability first, and offering transparent investigation into any and every accusation of rigging, etc. That, more than anything else, took the wind out of and plans of agitation. PPP, to its credit, has been more decisive than any other party as it ruled out agitation and fixed its gaze squarely on parliament. With a surprising show, and Bilawal having the luxury of time, a confrontation was the last thing that suited them.
There is an added measure of urgency this time around. Sure, things were hardly ideal at the last change of guard, but now the new government will be far more constrained in its actions because there is, quite simply, (almost) no money left in the kitty. And, to add insult to injury, payments to the tune of $15b are due over the course of the next fiscal and a half. Add to that the expenses of running the government – which also traditionally come from borrowed money – and we might need more than an IMF bailout just to stay afloat. Remember the last Extended Fund Facility (EFF) was a mere $6b; and we are going to need far, far more money this time. So it’s not exactly as if, after his 22-year struggle, Imran has inherited the Kingdom of Atlantis. Just how much he’s up to the task will become apparent soon enough, but for now it is time to get to work.
