The opposition has constantly criticised the current government for the growing socio-economic crisis in the country. I cannot help but wonder if the opposition parties have a plan or solution to manage the fiscal debt? In the past, Pakistan has approached IMF time and again under different governments. Even Pakistan’s exports have long been in a decline.
Economies neither aggravate nor ameliorate in a day; long-term policies, planning, and strategies form the economic trajectory of any country. Pakistan has never been self-sufficient and has continuously relied on loans to meet the budget deficit. Throughout their tenure, all governments claim that five years are not enough to resolve all the problems. However, when they are not re-elected, the new party that assumes leadership blames the previous government. This cycle has continued for decades and now the economic situation is spiralling out of control. Both past and present governments have focused on providing subsidies and short-term solutions. Consequently, one of the biggest challenges faced by Pakistan is the gap between exports and imports. We rely heavily on oil imports for power generation, which account for nearly $10 billion. Had past governments focused on building dams, our reliance on oil imports could have been reduced.
Another major problem is the fiscal deficit as the expenses always exceed the revenues collected through tax and other means. Given the small number of taxes paid, the government has resorted to raising indirect taxes, which have harmed the lower and middle-income groups. The government has also had to cut down on development and welfare programmes and reduce public spending that has negatively affected education, healthcare, etc. This can explain Pakistan’s poor position on human development indices. Instead of rallying against the government, the opposition must work with the government to resolve the recurring problems. Otherwise, the country will remain entrenched in a socio-economic crisis while the leaders remain involved in their political blame game.
ADIL KHAN
ISLAMABAD
