When all else fails, divine providence is the most favourite mantra for politicians in Pakistan. Just one glance at the dark annals of history can help one understand why Finance Minister Ishaq Dar felt comfortable in tossing the ball to Allah’s court and asserting that He is responsible for Pakistan’s development and prosperity.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this statement if coming from a hapless man walking on the street as he contemplates whether to pay for his skyrocketing electricity bill or spend his day standing in a queue outside a subsidised flour sale point.
A sitting member of a federal cabinet in a sovereign country, especially one brought to wave his magic wand and pull out the proverbial rabbit, on the other hand, skates on thin ice. The usual grace period of three months where every administration is allowed the breathing space to cry a river or two or place the blame of its harsh constraints at the doorstep of its predecessors ended more than a while ago.
Today, when Mr Dar or his colleagues refer to the tenure of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to divert blame from his wrongdoings, he has no one else to fool but himself. This week started with an extraordinary power outage that had plunged the entire country into darkness and is ending with crippling uncertainties about petrol as dark clouds continue to hover over the currency market.
Think again, Mr Finance Minister. Wouldn’t it be better to rely on the pristine intellect Almighty bestowed upon you and carve up a revolutionary blueprint that helps avert disasters in the coming days? Neither your country nor your government has the stomach to absorb any more shocks.
After all, in the words of Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, “Khuda ne aaj tak us qaum ki halat nahin badli; Na ho jisko khiyal aap apni halat k badalne ka.” (God never changed the conditions of nations Till the desire of change is kindled in them. *