The second wave of coronavirus inside the country and in countries who are Pakistan’ major export markets is having a toll on the national economy. Exports have come down, so have imports, while the trade deficit has increased by 4 percent to $6.7 billion. A report by the Finance Ministry acknowledges that the fiscal deficit as of November 20 increased by almost 70 percent when compared with the same period of last year even though development expenditure remained almost flat. We are told that the effects on the economic outlook would depend on the intensity and duration of restrictions being imposed on some sectors and areas of economy. Pakistan can do little to reduce the virus threat in other countries. It can however take measures to reduce its impact inside the country.
The ongoing confrontation between the government and the PDM is helping in the pandemic’s spread. The opposition parties were practically forced to take recourse to street agitation on account of the unrelenting vengefulness on the part of the Prime Minister. Fresh cases continue to be opened against opposition leaders by NAB after failing to penalize them in the old ones. A large team of hired government spokesmen has continued a barrage of propaganda against the PDM leadership, adding insult to injury. The government wants to put an end to the opposition’s protests on terms that are humiliating for its leaders. It is thus using the pandemic to force the opposition to surrender, while it continues to pile fresh cases against its leaders amidst grave provocations.
There is a need for a truce between the opposition and the government. This requires an end to the filing of fresh cases, a signal to the pliant NAB to allow bail to those under investigation followed by invitation to the PDM for talks by the PM himself. Trying to subdue the opposition through threats like banning the protests did not help in the past and is not likely to help now. It is time the government showed flexibility in the larger interest of the nation. At stake are people’s lives and the national economy.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/11/28/the-need-for-flexibility/
The need for flexibility: Editorial in Pakistan Today, Nov 28, 2020
The second wave of coronavirus inside the country and in countries who are Pakistan’ major export markets is having a toll on the national economy. Exports have come down, so have imports, while the trade deficit has increased by 4 percent to $6.7 billion. A report by the Finance Ministry acknowledges that the fiscal deficit as of November 20 increased by almost 70 percent when compared with the same period of last year even though development expenditure remained almost flat. We are told that the effects on the economic outlook would depend on the intensity and duration of restrictions being imposed on some sectors and areas of economy. Pakistan can do little to reduce the virus threat in other countries. It can however take measures to reduce its impact inside the country.
The ongoing confrontation between the government and the PDM is helping in the pandemic’s spread. The opposition parties were practically forced to take recourse to street agitation on account of the unrelenting vengefulness on the part of the Prime Minister. Fresh cases continue to be opened against opposition leaders by NAB after failing to penalize them in the old ones. A large team of hired government spokesmen has continued a barrage of propaganda against the PDM leadership, adding insult to injury. The government wants to put an end to the opposition’s protests on terms that are humiliating for its leaders. It is thus using the pandemic to force the opposition to surrender, while it continues to pile fresh cases against its leaders amidst grave provocations.
There is a need for a truce between the opposition and the government. This requires an end to the filing of fresh cases, a signal to the pliant NAB to allow bail to those under investigation followed by invitation to the PDM for talks by the PM himself. Trying to subdue the opposition through threats like banning the protests did not help in the past and is not likely to help now. It is time the government showed flexibility in the larger interest of the nation. At stake are people’s lives and the national economy.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/11/28/the-need-for-flexibility/
Published in Pak Media comment and Pakistan