By: Asem Mustafa Awan
Asian Development Bank (ADB) will give one and a half billion dollars to Pakistan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar believe that this relief package will turn the tide in favor of Pakistan.
It is a sad reality the loan from ADB is termed as a key to getting Pakistan out of the economic quagmire and it is also a fact that Pakistan pays 20 billion dollar a year as debt to international donors and once it reached over 30 billion dollars not long ago.
The fact that the prime minister is calling the amount of new debt as the key to solving economic problems raises queries.
The coalition parties of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) have consistently claimed and harped that they have the best team of economic engineers and they can steer the country out of the economic black hole. Once their wish as in reigns to steer the nation were awarded, the six months have been a nightmarish experience for the commoner.
For five months, Miftah Ismail imposed an indescribable burden of inflation on the people and when government could not restore the economy for five months, Ishaq Dar was flown home.
Before his swearing-in ceremony firstly as Senator and later as Finance Minister, the rupee mysteriously appreciated against the US dollar and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) took credit for it. Ishaq Dar claiming that his stepping into the country halted ‘dollar’ unprecedented flight but to nation’s amazement his step forward proved otherwise in passing days and the ‘dollar’ is running amok.
Running to International Monetary Fund (IMF) and complying to their checklist made Pakistan did come out of the Financial Action Task Force ‘Grey List’ but the plethora of problems still needs immediate attention.
Over one third of nation is engulfed in floods and three provinces have been affected and water hasn’t receded in many places and with winter approaching governments needs to rethink its priorities for a commoner in Pakistan.
The new Finance Minister tried rescheduling the debts on the pretext of floods in Pakistan and this plea did get some concessions but many financial institutions refused to ease up on terms.
The people holding the reigns did run from one end of the world to the other including United States and Saudi Arabia but so far the signs appearing have been very dim and on top of it the foreign exchange reserves are getting depleted with alarming rate.
Getting new loans is also an arduous task and the loans taken in the past need to be repaid first. The PDM government believes that all this can go in a whiff of smoke is an illusion they must step out immediately. The solution to all this lies in dialogue and all stake holders must sit together including the opposition and work on an agenda that is for Pakistan and not for their own vested paltry interest.
Rebuilding the economy on loan is an unwise attempt and sooner Pakistan come out of this trap the better. While political leadership failed in securing the loans General Bajwa’s words carried weight and his efforts resulted in relief for Pakistan.
The writer is a Special Correspondent at The Dayspring
