Jack of many ministries

• More on Ahsan Iqbal’s plate?

Reports that Nawaz Sharif himself opposed chucking out Finance Minister Ishaq Dar just yet — despite the economy being rudderless in times of an abnormally high deficit amid rising prices — have been doing the rounds for a while now. Perhaps Nawaz wanted the ministry cover for Dar, also a part of the extended Sharif family, so he could avoid the NAB references as long as possible. Or, like once upon a time not too long ago, to keep Dar from spilling the beans, albeit “under duress”, once again. But after the reopening of the Hudabiya Paper Mills case, where Dar is co-accused, time may have finally run out for the so-called ‘economic tzar’ of this electoral cycle.

However, reports – unconfirmed so far — that Dar might be replaced by Ahsan Iqbal are distressing. Iqbal is, of course, already heading two very serious ministries. Planning and Development must take up a lot of his time, as must his involvement in CPEC. Then there is the burden of the interior ministry, especially in times of internal conflict, which Pakistan has its fair share of at present. Even when Ch Nisar was giving his undivided attention to the ministry, there was much that could still have been handled better.

Piling the finance portfolio on top of Iqbal’s other assignments would be unreasonable even if the economy presented a picture perfect outlook, which it clearly does not. Growth is, as usual, slower than expected. The deficit is the most bloated in our history with no possible avenue of adequate revenue generation. Little surprise, then, that the debt is ballooning once again. Dar, despite his wide ranging powers (which included muscling into the state bank’s jurisdiction), could not put a lid on our economic troubles. Iqbal, with two other (very important) ministries to worry about, can hardly do any better. He might be a Wharton graduate – like another prominent international politician that occupies the White House – but even the finest Ivy League training would not have prepared him to juggle three extremely demanding ministries at once.

Either PML-N suffers from a serious lack of talent, or it has its priorities badly mixed up. Either way, it would need to bring some sanity back to governance. It is, after all, still the ruling party, and this is the last lap before the general election.