The sabre-rattling by the MQM, the PML-Q and the ANP is just a matter of political point-scoring and nothing else.
LAHORE: However much we may dislike the recent price hike in petroleum products, the fact is that it had become inevitable. True, the government can give a subsidy, but can it afford to do so?
The sabre-rattling by the MQM, the PML-Q and the ANP is just a matter of political point-scoring and nothing else. The state can only afford to give this subsidy if it plugs the various leaks in its revenues and takes concrete measures to stop institutionalised corruption through strict administrative measures and by holding the culprits accountable for their misdeeds.
The scandals involving the National Insurance Company Limited, the 2010 Hajj, rental power projects and so on continue to have their toll on our economy. Political parties that are now opposing the oil price increase would serve all of us better if they directed their energies on these matters because, by checking these leaks, the government could increase its revenues, which, in turn, would allow it to pay for a subsidy.
States can only claim to be sovereign if they have balanced budgets and do not rely on foreign aid, which more often than not comes with strings attached.
Malik Tariq Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, March 4th, 2011.
