OPINION
M A Niazi
printing more money? The absolutist position of ‘no retreat’ has been diluted, and now a middle way is being spoken of, of removing part of the subsidy, which is a tacit admission that it is unaffordable in its entirety. The problem is that while the oil price hike is an act of God is there ever was one, there is no predicting when the Russo-Ukrainian War, which caused the current spike, might come No decisions seem to have been taken to an end. Instead of the swift victory sought by Russia, the war shows every sign of settling into the protracted and indecisive t was an elaborate ritual, meant to bring some closure, but grind that had been predicted before the conflict even started. it didn’t, because no conclusions were reached. The meeting This uncertainty is perhaps the main reason the Shehbaz of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PML(N) supremo coalition has come under fire, first from the ousted PTI, but now Nawaz Sharif, along with leading Cabinet members, was increasingly from its supporters, for not delivering. Perhaps it is perhaps not the inevitable and necessary, but clear decipaying the price of exaggerating its competence. The government sions it did not lead to. cannot work miracles. But that is precisely what it promised. Most of all, there was no real decision on what was There is the argument that Imran would also have been as hapless going to happen to the petrol subsidy. Removing it would had he been allowed to remain in office, but that does not really not just be a shattering blow because of the heightened inflation wash, because the present government’s inability to meet the that would be caused by it, not just in terms of moving persons, but crisis means that there was no point in removing incompetent moving goods and electricity tariffs. No one seems to have considered failure if all that would replace it was another failure, no matter what would have happened if the government had not inherited it. It how competent. is highly unlikely that the government would have imposed it after its This might be unfair to the present government, first takeover. because it may not have known how big was the problem the Not removing it means that the negotiations with the IMF are PTI was leaving behind, and it would have been subject to the dead in the water before they start. That apart, with all the conseoccupational disease of politicians, optimism (just ask Imran if he quences that carries with it, continuing the subsidy can bring the would be able to handle Pakistan’s problems if brought back to entire country to a grinding halt. The prospect exists of the governpower; he would never say no). However, there is little evidence ment running out of money, of its being unable to pay salaries. With that the government, when in opposition, had a radical plan. the new autonomy given to the State Bank of Pakistan, it is not that After taking office, the government has not taken any steps to easy to simply print more money to meet the deficit. Even if that were reduce inflation or any of the deficits it faces, which would give possible, what would be the political effects of the inflation caused by the impression that when in opposition, it had formulated a plan to handle the situation. Any plan unveiled now would be ascribed to Mian Nawaz, and also Ishaq Dar. That would only emphasize the problem of having a sort of shadow governThe writer is a veteran ment in London. Mian Nawaz does not seem to have a shadow Interior Minister, unless it is Abid journalist and joint editor Sher Ali, and he does seem to lack even a hint of a Foreign Minister, that department seemingly at Pakistan Today definitively handed over to the PPP. However, these days, it seems, Finance is making the running, and may play a decisive role in the other two questions that were put to Mian Nawaz: the fate of Imran Khan, and the timing of fresh elections. While Imran’s fate is not linked to the economy except insofar as he is disturbing the economic environment, the timing of elections has to do with the economy. Imran’s fate has to do with how far he sails close to the wind in his attacks on the military collectively, and the COAS individually. His claims that his references to Mir Sadiq are actually to the Sharif brothers are uncon-
All roads lead to London
I 22
