Asif Mehmood
Does this government have any economic policy? The sound and fury of the snickering patricians of the ruling elite is literally violating our eardrums but when it comes to a sane and prudence policy towards economic prosperity, suddenly the whole sound and fury becomes a whimper. How long can you accuse your predecessors for the economic disaster? How long will you avoid the question about your own performance? How long can you hide behind the follies of your political opponents? How long can you survive on empty rhetoric and dirty diatribe? How long can you sell you’re the concept of your inevitability just because others were not that competent? One day you will have to be answerable and the day has come , my Sir! One and a half year is not a joke. We don’t ask you to change the economic contours altogether but we are much justified in expecting at least a road map from you , Sir. Where is that roadmap? Where is the mounting hope and where have you buried your high and lofty claims to bring change in just 100 days?
Do you think you can build up the edifice of economy just by imposing indirect taxes in a bulk? This is no way to boost the economy. To what extent can you drag the money out of the pocket of the poor people of Pakistan? Haw many time will you impose taxes on the utility bills and how many times you will enhance the rates of electricity , gas and petroleum products? Economy cannot be strengthened by imposing undue indirect taxes. It needs economic activity to boost the economy. Where is the economic activity?
Don’t take my words for it , just go through what the government owned Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has revealed. As per its report, “the general inflation measured by consumer price indicator (CPI) increased by 14.6 per cent in January over the same month of last year. The details are rather alarming. CPI was recorded at 7.9pc in January over January, the general CPI was up 14.6pc, food inflation was up about 24pc and prices of non-perishable food items were up 16pc. The perishable food items inflation was up a whopping 78.5pc.”
Now this is something really alarming. You can’t just borrow from IMF , impose heavy taxes and run the country. To steer the nation towards prosperity we need a prudent , long term economic policy backed by all political parties so that the element of stability can be added to it and investor can invest with confidence that OK , at least for one or two decades this is economic policy. In state of fear and uncertainty about the economic policies no one will come to invest here.
