All’s well?

Yes, Prime Minister Imran Khan does insist that all is well — be it the government’s response to Covid-19, the state of the national economy, or his foreign policy. The PM spoke to the National Assembly — making only his 13^th appearance in the house in nearly two years — on Thursday during the ongoing budget session and defended the overall performance of his team. He looked well in control as he deliberated upon, with the help of statistics, the various challenges his government is trying to come to terms with.

To start off with, the PM claimed success on his strategy to counter the coronavirus in the country. He reiterated the logic behind his aversion to a full-fledged countrywide lockdown, saying that since the day one there had been no confusion in his mind about the need to balance measures to fight the virus and protecting the economy, thereby preventing the people from going hungry. Even though, four months on, Pakistan is still struggling to plateau the infection curve, the PM is absolutely correct that our country is no Europe, New Zealand or China which could have opted for a complete lockdown with gay abandon.

When speaking on the prevailing financial situation, the PM mentioned the “sinking” economy that his government had inherited featuring a high current account deficit, a controlled exchange rate regime “detrimental” to exports, and huge public debts — something that, according to him, had dragged the country to the verge of default. While he cherry-picked to manage face-saving in front of his rivals, the various SBP reports paint an even gloomier picture of the economy during his two years in power. With his UN General Assembly address on Kashmir being the only highlight of his foreign policy so far, the PM mostly repeated the popular rhetoric that he was so very fond of while in the opposition.

In a pleasant break from his customary bashing of the opposition, the PM’s speech in parliament carried a hint of his desire for a new beginning with the opposition. His 86-minute speech in the lower house, however, kicked up quite a controversy when he called Osama bin Laden a martyr — something that contradicts our official policy on the matter and that risks a global reaction.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2020.

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