Daily Times

Now Logic will Prevail (Ab Baat hogi logic se), is the underlying message of the new PML N political campaign. The advertisement presents numbers and references for the fantastical economic performance during the PMLN era. All this time, the posed PTI supporters are shown to be in utter disbelief. The campaign idea and the execution are actually praiseworthy. Viewers can also fact check the numbers and will find those reported in the newspapers as well. However, I would also endorse the message given in the advertisement and urge all readers to let logic prevail.

Before I even dive into the numbers and who surpassed who in terms of the economic performance, were the countless billboards, hangers, the extensive digital and TV campaigns with the taxpayers’ money necessary? One thing we all have to admit is that PTI did teach the remaining political parties how to create and run a political campaign. However, I do not recall such an extensive use of marketing touch points across the city or province of Punjab. Since we all also know that PML-N political leaders were tasked to bring a certain number of attendees on the 21st of October showdown, that every constituency was flooded with funds and the MPAs and the MNAs invested million blindly in this political perception building, therefore the ROI was evident from the main event, so no comments on that. The proof is in the pudding as they say and to my knowledge it tasted pretty sour.

If one looks only at the last tenures of PPP and PML-N, the external borrowings stood at a staggering $ 25.008 billion and $ 49.761 billion while only $ 14 billion and $27.071 billion were repaid respectively.

For a fairer comparison it is only logical to consider the economic and political performance of all Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI). Also, for a more transparent comparison it would make more sense to take into account the entire duration of political representation these parties have had to enjoy. Now the total duration of PPP in the federal power including all of their electoral wins is a little over 13 years. The PPP has ruled the province of Sindh for over 22 years. PML-N’s accumulated tenure in the federal government is over a decade and over seventeen years in Punjab. To clarify these 17 years of Punjab do not include coalition governments or the PPP tenure. We all know that PTI’s federal reign was cut short in 2022 and only held the office in 2018. However, their KPK government was close to eight years. Now to say that this may not be a fair comparison on the basis of difference in political exposure, would be berserk. PTI opposers pose the question of what has the party done for the masses while they fail to deliver the answer for the same.

Going back to the IMF, as highlighted in the advertisement, Pakistan has been allocated a cumulative amount of SDR23.656 billion through programmes approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), out of which SDR 14.189 billion has been effectively distributed. Over the course of 63 years, Pakistan has been granted a total of three long-term Extended Credit Facilities, five medium-term Extended Fund Facilities, at least 12 short-term Standby Arrangement loans, and one Structural Adjustment Facility. Until FY2019, Pakistan had borrowed around SDR 13.79 billion from the IMF, out of which 47% of the loans were secured by PPP, followed by PML-N at 35%, while the military rule lags behind with a mere 18%. Even though PTI is heavily criticised for delaying the IMF deal and receiving a loan of SDR4.268 billion in July 2019, the economic figures also reveal that the government successfully repaid over $ 36.05 billion of its external borrowings. If one looks only at the last tenures of PPP and PML-N, the external borrowings stood at a staggering $ 25.008 billion and $ 49.761 billion while only $ 14 billion and $27.071 billion were repaid respectively. To conclusively put my take on the loans I have been saying this for years and across all of my media interactions that loans never make or strengthen a nation and we need a comprehensive plan that helps put an end to this malice once and for all.

PTI has also been criticised for a poor GDP growth rate. Critics mention a growth from 3.9% to 6.1% during PML-N’s last tenure and that no growth was recorded during PTI’s reign. If we are letting logic prevail then I would say that organically stabilising the GDP at 6.1% during the COVID-19 pandemic, was nothing less than an economic marvel. One must give credit where its due and the PTI’s response to the pandemic has been praised by the world. Interestingly, according to the data present in Pakistan Economic survey 2017-18, “The GDP growth had reached the lowest level of 0.36 percent in FY 2009 and thereafter it remained volatile with an average of 2.82 percent between FY 2008 and FY 2013,” highlighting PPP’s economic performance.

What is most intriguing is that PPP has somehow always managed to fly under the radar. As PTI and PML-N continue to battle it out on the political arena, their followers are being constantly misguided, misled, and misrepresented. The entire point of a colossal political campaign was to hold a larger rally than that we have seen in the past, when it should have been focused on the wellbeing of the nation. All we have seen so far is judicial relief for the formerly convicted political leader. As cases continue to get dropped against the PML-N leadership and pile against PTI, and PPP miraculously manages to maintain its political façade – it is the people of Pakistan who continue to lose both economically and logically.

The writer is Foreign Research Associate, Centre of Excellence, China Pakistan Economic Corridor, Islamabad