The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) government since assuming power in 2013 had faced many challenges, the strongest of which came from the Imran Khan led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf with their 126-day long sit in. The government managed to survive these challenges, and if critics are to be believed this has made the government somewhat arrogant. Critics points to the way different cases have been handled by the government be it the Model Town massacre, the various abuse scandals and the Nandipur power project. In all these cases the government flatly rejected criticism, even though it appears that in most of the cases the criticism was justified.
However, when it comes to the case of some multi-billion dollar financial deals and other projects there appear to be some serious concerns regarding the transparency of these deals. Be it the China Pakistan Economic Corridor which has been tipped by many as a game changer for Pakistan, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) deal or some other project, there’s a high level of secrecy in all the deals.
The secrecy of the government when it comes to financial matters involving billions makes most of these deals even in the eyes of the common people. The government must ensure that all these deals are made as transparent as possible. If details of deals are open to public it will actually make life a lot easier for the government, provided it has nothing to hide. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor which has faced some stern criticism only because of the government secrecy is a prime example of how secrecy breeds conspiracies and doubts.
The high level of secrecy with regards to financial deals creates doubts even in the minds of common people.
