Tough economic steps ‘should be owned’

The PML-N led coalition government wants the powerful circles of the country to take ownership of the “tough” economic decisions through the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting, it emerged on Sunday.

Sources in the ruling alliance told The Express Tribune that the multi-party government had been delaying the announcement of some key decisions aimed at steering the country out of its economic crisis as it wanted the powerful stakeholders on the same page before burning its political capital.

“They [security establishment] sit in the NSC [meeting]. There is no security situation more important than a worsening economy,” a lawmaker in the ruling alliance said.

“They cannot be mere spectators as the government makes tough decisions and burn its political capital to solve the grave economic problems that the PTI created during its four years. The same security establishment sat in the NSC meetings and supported those decisions,” he added.

There is an ongoing stalemate between the government and the powerful stakeholders over the delay on ending subsidy on petroleum products to revive the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

“If they [security establishment] don’t take ownership of the tough decisions, then it is best not to stay in the government,” the lawmaker added. “It’s not a question of assurance…it’s about the ownership of the decisions.”

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The hint that the current regime was ready to walk away from power resonates with Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah’s recent statement that the government would not take the burden of its predecessor’s poor performance if it was not allowed to freely rule the country and complete the remaining constitutional term.

The interior minister’s statement has come on the heels of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s remarks at a rally in Sargodha on May 19, where she did not mince any words when she said it would be better to quit the government than to burden the people with further price hike.

Referring to the worsening economic situation of the country, some lawmakers feared that Pakistan was inches away from becoming Sri Lanka and that was why an NSC meeting was “important”. “This is the time to be on the same page; not for personal or party gains but for the national crisis staring us in the face,” another lawmaker in the ruling coalition said.

Though the government has not yet officially summoned the NSC meeting, but former premier Imran Khan had said on May 20 during Multan’s public gathering that the government wanted the NSC’s endorsement for making tough decisions.

“This is such a cowardly government. They say call a meeting of the security committee and increase the price of petrol,” the PTI chief had said, “they want the army to bear the brunt of the petrol price hike.”

Some political analysts said the government wanted the stakeholders’ endorsement just the way it had managed to receive the NSC’s stamp on the issue of a “foreign conspiracy”.

The foreign conspiracy claim was first made by ex-PM Imran on March 27 at a public rally in Islamabad. He had claimed that the opposition’s no-confidence move was part of a US-orchestrated conspiracy to topple his government because he had defied Washington on his Russia visit.

On April 22, a meeting of the NSC –chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif – had concluded that based on the input of security agencies as well as former Pakistan ambassador to the US, no evidence of a foreign conspiracy to topple Imran’s government was found.

Currently, those familiar with the developments said the stakeholders wanted the government to end subsidy on petroleum products and revive the IMF programme. However, the government was not ready to take the measures if it was not allowed to complete its full remaining term.