Usher in a thaw

PM Shehbaz sounded serene as he voiced for economic reforms, and reiterated his call for a charter of economy

On the eve of Independence Day, there was an aura of quid pro quo. The opposition rallying under former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a historic show of strength in Lahore, meant business as it flexed its muscles for an early general election, and tried to dissuade the impression that the party is against the powers-that-be. Khan hinted at mending fences with the US, too, as he remarked that there is no reason to make an enemy out of Washington. He pointed out that Pakistan’s exports to the US were substantial and the Pakistani-American community was one of the influential communities in that part of the world. This toning down of anti-American rhetoric has apparently come as the party has hired a lobbying firm to normalise its strained face-value that shot up to animosity in the backdrop of the cipher episode. In the same vein, by announcing more public rallies countrywide from next week, the PTI has cast the die for forcing the government to get down to terms of a new political order.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sounded serene as he voiced for economic reforms, and reiterated his call for a charter of economy. He stressed on economic independence, adding that a conception of freedom without economic vibrancy is a mirage. While dilating upon the measure that his government had taken to bail out an economy on the verge of default, he said clamping down on unnecessary imports has worked, and the rupee is gathering strength against the dollar. The point was to focus the synergies on the economy, and not to get distracted over issues of lesser importance.

Pakistan’s political mosaic is in need of a thaw. This overt polarisation is proving detrimental to national interests. Moreover, a plummeting economy along with political instability is toiling the nation, which is already reeling under inflation and unemployment. An out-of-the-box solution is required and that too by uniting all the political forces in a grand national dialogue. Only then the demands of both the opposition and the government to usher in a level playing field and rectify the economy can be realised. Raising the stakes is a waste of synergies.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2022.

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