
KARACHI:
Instead of constantly trading barbs, our politicians should make amends with each other for the greater good. They must understand that tide and time never spare anyone. All politicians should work collectively for the sake of the country to carve out a plan for getting us out of the economic quagmire. In Pakistan, the only thing that has remained consistent is borrowing, crushing inflation, and the widening income gap. We may be faced with a similar situation as Sri Lanka if we fail to take timely action.
Every party that comes into power blames its predecessors for the rising problems and claims that they will fix them. Until a few months ago, even the PTI leadership was claiming that the opposition parties destroyed the economy and the PTI was taking measures to fix it. Unfortunately, inflation continued to rise unabated with few employment opportunities. The petrol price hikes further added to people’s burdens. Even different forms of crimes rose to an unprecedented level.
Now that the PDM has formed the government, it is blaming the PTI for the shambolic socio-economic situation. In this constant political blame game, it is the masses who are suffering from the ever-increasing problems. Our politicians must learn from Sri Lanka’s example and adopt a wise approach to resolve the ensuing crisis. They must cooperate and draw strong long-term plans that can steer the country out of the debt trap. Otherwise, we will be faced with a serious economic crisis which can lead to civil unrest.
Raja Shafaatullah
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2022.
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