The prosperity of any country depends on its political and economic stability, especially in this contemporary world. The world’s largest economies have never compromised on these two areas. During the Covid-19 outbreak, almost all countries of the world faced catastrophic economic crises, especially developing countries, Pakistan in particular. In the economic context, Pakistan has witnessed a bleak past and is passing through a murky present. Currently, Pakistan is wallowing in grim economic uncertainty, more than perhaps it ever has faced. But the question is: Who is to be blamed? Is this all due to Covid-19? Are the previous governments responsible for this crisis? Or can it be attributed to the present government?
However, it will be quite wrong to blame Covid-19 and previous governments for this financial meltdown of Pakistan. Pakistan has observed a record increase in GDP growth rate (5.5%) for the fiscal year 2017-18. Contrarily, the current gruesome economic situation can be attributed to the bad governance, failure of government and folly decisions made by its economic managers. The federal budget for the fiscal year (2020-21) is a glaring example in this context. Even knowing this, Pakistan is an agricultural country, only (1.78%) of the total budget was allocated for the agriculture sector that resulted in the shifting of Pakistan from wheat exporter to importer. Furthermore, the federal budget 2020-21 is based on assumptions and presumptions. But the ministers and this below-average team of economic managers are accusing previous governments of this crisis and using Covid-19 as a tool to hide their incompetencies. The Chief Executive of the state rather than assuring reforms are still praising this inept team of economic managers. It is imperative to take immediate and revolutionary measures and PM should re-evaluate the governance system of the government and performance of the economic team and replace them with an apt, proficient and experienced team whose focus must be the state of Pakistan and its 210 million masses.
ENGR. ALI HAIDER
LAHORE
