Just last month, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had declared, “There’s no chance of Pakistan defaulting.” Shattering his reassuring script, another member of the inner ring and federal defence minister Khawaja Asif stepped on a thumping stage in Sialkot on Saturday and thundered that the country had all but defaulted. He reminded everyone how the onus of them living in a bankrupt homeland lay on the shoulders of the establishment, bureaucracy and politicians and that the solution to our crippling problems could be found within, not at the doorstep of any money-lending organisation. While most of the heated banter might have been too much to stomach for an already exasperated nation ready to throw in the sponge any day now, Mr Asif needs a pat on the back for showing his guts and embracing reality. The proverbial burying of heads in the sand cannot help us evade the dark, dark tunnel ahead. Instead of slinging mud on others, the government would have been far better off enthusing clarity to the masses. We have had enough of a long-winding debate about how we fell from the brightest of heavens where milk and honey used to flow and rainbows and sunshine were the order of the day to the lowest of the lows. What’s needed now is a determination from the ruling elite to knock their heads together for solutions to these economic disasters. If IMF does not hold the key to our salvation, who or what can actually win over the constantly mounting challenges? Is it the development of interregional trade, a successful austerity drive or a miraculous swish of the tax-collection agency? From sky-touching inflation numbers to unbelievably shrinking foreign currency reserves to an onslaught of taxes upon taxes to no respite in sight on the rupee front, there are a trillion things that languish on the government’s agenda; hoping to be addressed sometime soon. That the present series of crises stemmed from our unwillingness to put forth comprehensive reforms as politics trumped over basic economics is secret to none. However, the PML-N-led government would only fool itself by closing its eyes just before colliding with the tip of the iceberg. Having gone all guns blazing at the former administration for every single spanner in their works for the past 10 months, it is high time that they realise: the ball had landed in their court ages ago! *