Daily Times

In an influx of comments and status updates were noticed on social media regarding the completion of 100 days in power of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI. Imran Khan’s 100 Days Agenda included transforming governance, strengthening the federation, revitalizing economic growth, uplifting agriculture, conserving water, revolutionizing social services and ensuring Pakistan’s national security. How much has the government achieved in these domains is yet to be seen?

However, it was a bold move by the government to hold a special event at the Jinnah Convention Centre, Islamabad to review the first 100 days of the government. Even though there were shortcomings in the government’s plans, this review event at least instilled hope in the people for the Prime Minister did come clean on this event. Now that the 100 days are over, done and dusted, the government must focus on actually going after its plans. This requires teamwork, planning, perseverance, resource management, and budgeting.

It is integral on part of the government to break down their eight major 100 Day Agenda points into smaller tactics, which address their overall strategy. Simple as it may seem, governing a country is no child’s play. It requires vision and transformational leadership. While Imran Khan has vision, he needs to prove his mettle because now as analysts opine, the government’s honeymoon period is over. I believe among the eight 100 Day Agenda points, ‘transforming governance’ is perhaps the most significant one. Governance makes or breaks a nation.

Where there is lack of governance, there is no vision and with it, no mechanism of accountability in order. If the Prime Minister is vowing to transform governance, he must choose the right person for the right job. This person must be loyal to himself, should not be working for vested or secret interests and must own the tasks with the objective of benefiting the country. When talking about governance, loyalty to the state must be adhered to at all times.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, during his speech talked about providing nourishment to four million children to prevent stunted growth, to curb corruption, to provide farmers with technology and subsidies, and to continue construction work on Bhasha Dam among others. It is true that the government’s action plans will work if carried out with right intentions, it is equally imperative for the government to think about the underprivileged sector of the country. They do not want Bhasha Dam nor are they concerned about Pakistan signing MoUs with other countries. All they want is cheap food, affordable education, and healthcare. Time will tell how the government will pursue these objectives, because this country will remain in jeopardy until it focuses on the poor.

As far as the government’s progress in 100 days is concerned then the exchange rate of the US Dollar against the Pakistani Rupee went up from Rs 122.5 to 135.2, petrol price per litre increased from PKR 95.24 to PKR 97.83, stock market index reduced from 42,446 to 40,869, the total value of shares came down from PKR 8,703 billion to PKR 8,096 billion, inflation shot up from 5.84 percent to 7 percent, trade deficit increased from USD 2.9 billion to USD 2.93, foreign reserves reduced from 16.72 billion to 14.7 billion, interest rate rose from 7.5 percent to 8.5 percent and the current account deficit increased from USD 59 million to USD 95 million. With more negative incidents happening than positive, the government must revise and review its strategies and decisions.

The Prime Minister briefed the audience of the measures his government took during the first 100 days which included bolstering the FIA to fight against money laundering, signing agreements with 26 countries, formation of a task force to enhance the operations of government hospitals, recovered PKR 350 billion worth of land as part of the anti-encroachment drive, lodged FIRs against those stealing electricity and allotted land to build shelter for the poor in Rawalpindi and Islamabad

The Prime Minister briefed the audience of the measures his government took during the first 100 days which included bolstering the FIA to fight against money laundering, signing agreements with 26 countries, formation of a task force to enhance the operations of government hospitals, recovered PKR 350 billion worth of land as part of the anti-encroachment drive, lodged FIRs against those stealing electricity and allotted land to build shelter for the poor in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The opposition, however, has alleged that the government has failed for it did not do its homework. The opposition must understand that every major political party has been given a chance to rule this country multiple times. It will take a while for PTI to understand the how’s and why’s of governance and to absorb the gigantic task of governance that is ahead of them.

The writer is an independent researcher and a columnist, writing on diverse topics including current geopolitical affairs

Published in Daily Times, December 2^nd 2018.