Daily Times

Eying a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $6 billion bailout package this month, the government is hopeful of securing the cheque after the prime minister, as well as a few cabinet members, showed optimism in the wake of meeting the IMF’s terms in the recently passed budget. The ambitious revenue target through the heartless imposition of additional taxes is going to hurt commoners as well as the middle class. The coming months are going to see a proverbial tsunami of inflation. Do not rule out the setting in of a tsunami of public anger directed at the elite.

The IMF demands the swift imposition of taxes introduced in the budget, and in this regard, the government has increased the prices of electricity and gas to be implemented from July 1. The IMF delegation is expected to visit Pakistan in the second week of July. When the power minister was unveiling new slabs for electricity in the Senate session on Thursday, several localities in Balochistan, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were reeling under unannounced load shedding in the extreme heat.

The budget has set a revenue collection target of Rs13 trillion for the fiscal year without introducing any out-of-the-box tax generation, and instead put a hole in the pockets of the already heavily taxed salaried class. The near-40 percent increase in revenue collection in one go has never been seen in the fiscal documents of the country. This huge jump from the prior year is likely to see a sharp drop in gross domestic product.

No miracle is expected in the pipeline to strengthen the economy. Before the budget, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and China in the hope of some real investment offers. Some countries promised to invest billions of dollars, but without any tangible plans and deadlines.

The government is walking on a tightrope as, on the one hand, there is pressure from the IMF, and on the other hand, there are public expectations. The people are already fed up with inflation, and now they are protesting against electricity load shedding and bills. The government should take corrective measures first and negotiate with the IMF regarding people’s problems. *