Daily Times

Not long ago, Islamabad’s proclamations on the economy were being dismissed left, right and centre. While there persisted an egregious display of stinging criticism by the PML-N mandarins at home, the clamour from those interested in our affairs (a tad more than their own) across the border also refused to die down.

Half a year after PM Khan encouraged his nation to breathe a sigh of relief as the economy was due for a “remarkable turnaround,” the global trends speak of the same optimism.

The latest to pin hopes on Pakistan has been rating agency Moody’s, which in its latest report, talked of a potential to grow by more than four per cent in the future. Previously, a similar return of the happy days was predicted by the Manilla-based Asian Development Bank. Quite expectedly, the ruling PTI is painting the town red over such a positive forecast. The skipper could not be happier as he recently gave a rundown of his government’s success story. The same is the enthusiasm of Islamabad’s mouthpieces. Energy Minister Hammad Azhar is confident in “prudent economic policies.” Meanwhile, the information minister wonders why the opposition called for protests at a time “when the economy was booming.”

Amid the fairy tale of eternal economic growth, the opposition’s chorus of disapproval has been a regular feature. And why wouldn’t it?

For nearly three years, the government has been facing a barrage of criticism by parties who conveniently forgot their own trail of policy lapses and financial disasters. Why shouldn’t PM Khan focus on the phenomenal current account surplus when only three years earlier, we had posted a whopping deficit of 20 billion dollars? The unofficial economic report card claims the pandemic had rammed Pakistan’s economy so much so that it had contracted by 2.1 per cent (even lower than the official figure). Considering this unparalleled crisis, the ongoing gains seem an even greater cause for celebration. A godsend relief, indeed, for which Pakistanis should be perpetually indebted to their brethren living abroad. Topping two billion dollars for the tenth month, record overseas remittances have lent quite a helping hand to the struggling economy.

Nevertheless, we cannot afford to put our feet up no matter how promising the prospects may seem. The ever-so-persistent skyrocketing prices of everyday items (ghee, sugar and flour) continue to remain a thorn in the flesh. How can a country be expected to bask in the glory of this economic victory when an overwhelming majority spends their days in a futile pursuit to put food on the table. There are rumours of petrol prices soaring even higher in the coming days. Yet another rubber stamp on the notion that rising food prices are here to stay.

Until PM and his cabinet dedicate themselves to the crucial undertaking of citizenry welfare, no good news would sound like good news. That economy is turning a corner is a hard-to-deny bottom line, but let’s just hope the next time our government puts the financial flag out, all of us can join in for a hurrah! *