Rhetoric beyond reform

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb's attempt to reframe the IMF's damning corruption and governance report as a "catalyst" rather than "criticism" is, at best, a half-truth and, at worst, a dangerous misdiagnosis. When a lender of last resort is compelled to table a detailed audit of institutional weaknesses, it is not offering polite advice; it is ringing the alarm bell on a system that has long been held hostage by elite capture and unchecked patronage.

The document's publication was a precondition for accessing the next $1.2 billion tranche. That in itself speaks volumes. Nations with robust fiscal discipline and transparency do not require international lenders to release governance autopsies before extending lifelines. Pakistan's citizens live the consequences of institutional decay every day. Now, it is that they have been formally and globally acknowledged. The country's opposition was quick to label it "the worst financial scandal in Pakistan's history", and while political theatrics often muddy the waters, the fact remains that the report exposes the very rot successive governments have conveniently swept under the carpet. Aurangzeb's insistence that the government itself requested this assessment in order to strengthen reforms is commendable if true, but also beside the point. Pakistan's challenge is not identifying the disease but treating it. The finance minister points to progress in taxation and governance, saying many recommendations are "already work in progress". The public has heard this refrain before. What they have not seen is the dismantling of the politics-business nexus that bleeds the national exchequer.

The IMF's prescription is practical - to enact structural changes within three to six months to put growth on a 5–6.5 per cent trajectory over the next five years. But those numbers will remain aspirational if reforms continue to be cosmetic and policymakers continue to shield sacred cows.