A self-righteous government which rejects the possibility of any dialogue with the two main opposition parties is ill-equipped to create a national consensus even on issues that require immediate concerted action. Any move by the opposition whether confrontationist or conciliatory is presented by the PTI as an evidence of attempts to seek another National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). The opposition had made it known during the NA sitting on Tuesday that it wanted to discuss the grave economic challenges facing the country with an aim to jointly devise a national strategy to counter these. The finance minister however left the House after delivering his speech without caring to seek the opposition’s inputs. While the government continues to bask in the glory of its electoral victory, challenges that it cannot resolve alone continue to accumulate. The government’s ineptitude is alienating bureaucracy; the courts have started having second thoughts about the PTI’s claims; and some of the ruling party’s allies who played a crucial role in helping the PTI form government are getting dissatisfied with the its performance. Meanwhile lawmaking cannot be undertaken without NA’s parliamentary committees which have not been formed due to differences with the opposition. The government has yet to find its moorings or to determine a clear direction to be followed over the next five years. The economy is in bad shape. The macroeconomic stability gains are fast eroding, putting the economic outlook at risk. There is an increase in inflation rate to 7.5 percent from 3.9 percent in 2018 and revised GDP growth rate downward to 4 percent in 2019 from 5.8 percent in 2018. The unemployment ratio has increased. Moody’s has projected Pakistan’s current account deficit to stand around 4.8 percent of GDP in the current financial year 2018-19. In case there is no commonly agreed charter of economy the government may not alone be able to implement the unpalatable economic reforms needed to overcome the daunting economic challenges in case a period of social unrest sets in, which is not unlikely, with a cornered opposition unwilling to support a hostile administration. |
