Daily Times

While the government would like to see the glass half-full and project only that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has acknowledged that blacklisting Pakistan is off the table, it is still very bad news that the country stays on the grey list for now. Pakistan made progress on 21 out of 27 action items demanded by FATF but clearly it will have to do something about the remaining six as well or the trauma from this will haunt the government for a long time to come. Already the combined opposition is up in arms and would gladly use any of the government’s failures, like high prices and joblessness, against it.

This matter needs to be settled very urgently otherwise there could be much trouble just ahead with regard to obtaining financing and loans from the international financial market. And since the country runs primarily on borrowed money it will find its core functioning compromised very soon if external funding suddenly dries. That is why it is also trying to get the IMF program back on track very desperately but there is the sticking point about raising electricity tariffs that is holding back any progress for the moment. Yet sooner or later the government will have to give in to this demand as well so people can start preparing for even higher prices going ahead.

The government must go right back to the drawing board. It has long been accusing the opposition of politicising this issue by allegedly associating it with relief for their leaders when it comes to their accountability trials. If such accusations are indeed true then the opposition must get its act together because political disagreements, even the strongest ones, are best handled around issues that remain within the country and do not affect anything that can hurt the people. Pakistan will not be able to progress at all unless it finally sheds the tag of terror financer, etc, no matter how unfair or unjustified, because that is how the world has come to see us over time; whether we like it or not. The government has done a fine job by meeting the 21 action points in only one year. Now it must make sure that it goes all the way and make sure that this matter is put to rest once and for all. *