The government has changed but the situation of the country and the people is not advancing. At present, the country is under the burden of immense debts. Problems like inflation and unemployment have taken a toll on the common man and the government is once again on the doorstep of the IMF to further alleviate our poverty, while the IMF is enforcing new conditions on our poverty line.
It is said that the current government, which is imposing new conditions to further alleviate our poverty, was claiming to put an end to rising inflation in the fortnight before it came to power and immediate relief would be provided to the people as soon as it came into power but the fears that are being expressed about the abolition of subsidies and increase in petrol, gas and electricity prices have made the people more anxious and the people’s hopes for the government are once again falling apart.
It is clear that the present government has inherited economic problems in the same way as the previous government did, but the difference is that Imran Khan did not have an experienced team to solve the problems. There seemed to be no clear policy or plan in Imran khan’s regime but on the contrary, the cabinet formed by MianShehbaz Sharif consists mostly of the same old veteran ministers, who also served as ministers in previous governments as well as the present government coalition who have been claiming better planning since coming to power. So the people rightly expect more from the Shehbaz Sharif government than from Imran Khan that they will perform better than the previous government and will refrain from such measures which the previous government has been taking.
To win the next election, it is necessary to formulate policies that have immediate and lasting effects in the interest of the people. If this does not happen then the entire debris of the previous government will fall on the present government. It will be very difficult to avoid it and go to the next election as this time the people will vote not for change, but only in case of change and this honour will be given to the one who will light the lamp of change.
There is no denying the fact that the present ruling parties, despite being fully aware of the situation in the country and the economic crisis came up with a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan and succeeded in ousting the Imran government from power before it had completed its constitutional term.
Therefore, it is the responsibility of the new government to deal with whatever economic or political situation it may be facing now, because the government can neither escape from it nor waste its time by dumping its debris on the previous government while accepting the challenges with open heart, so the current government will have to take steps to overcome the political and economic crises and provide immediate relief to the people. This is not as easy as it might have seemed to the opposition alliance when sitting outside the government.
Just a few days before coming to power, Mian Shehbaz and his comrades used to sharply criticize the Imran Khan government and say that it had ruined the economy of the country and the country was mired in debt, that a PML(N) government would overcome these problems and save the people from difficulties.
The coalition government has now been formed and all the institutions are also subject to their orders. So it can be expected that the situation will move in the right direction. The present government is making a fuss over the tunnels laid by the previous government. If the previous government has really laid any tunnels then it is the job of the present government to clear them.
Mian Shehbaz Sharif and his team can neither get rid of the problems they face nor pass the buck on to anyone else, they will have to work on an emergency basis in a very short time. They will have to formulate short term policies which can be implemented to maximize the benefits in the shortest possible time. It was very easy to talk about it in opposition, but it seems very difficult for the government to do anything now.
Undoubtedly, one of the top priorities of the present government is to abolish the cases against itself and its party leaders, dispose of the NAB, get a clean chit from the courts, and find a transparent way to participate in the next elections. But at the same time, the thorns the previous government has scattered at home and abroad will have to be picked up by the newly appointed cabinet and PM Shehbaz Sharif as it is their responsibility to create conducive conditions.
Some allies of the government have started demanding early general elections, the same demand of the deposed government. So Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his allies have to survive and in order to win the next election, it is necessary to formulate policies that have immediate and lasting effects in the interest of the people. If this does not happen then the entire debris of the previous government will fall on the present government. It will be very difficult to avoid it and go to the next election as this time the people will vote not for change, but only in case of change and this honour will be given to the one who will light the lamp of change.
