The deadlock with the IMF has gone on long enough. Everybody knows that there will be no progress and no chance of reviving the EFF (Extended Fund Facility) until the government rolls back the petrol and electricity subsidy extended by the previous one in sheer desperation. Yet Finance Minister Miftah Ismail felt confident that he could get the Fund to bend to his persuasion, just like Shaukat Tarin and Hafeez Sheikh before him. And, just like them, his best plans were rejected and we are, once again, right back to square one; only this time there’s no time left to take this issue back and forth anymore. The Fund is right. The program wouldn’t have gotten this far if the previous administration hadn’t signed to implement IMF’s “prior actions”, which included rolling back tax breaks and subsidies. But Imran Khan went back on the agreement when he found himself politically cornered. And even though the gambit didn’t work and his government still had to go, the ripples from this move continue to hurt the balance of payments. Now there’s no telling how this and next fiscal year’s deficits are going to be funded, what revenue measures will be required, and what will become of social sector and development programs. There’s still time to sort this out because, according to some reports, the Fund has given the government another day or two to consider the alternatives. Otherwise, the program will most likely be terminated. But since the economy cannot survive on its own at the moment, and the loan will give it a much-needed lease of life, it is expected that the government will finally take the bitter pill, and make the people take it too, so the economy can linger on, at least. This matter should have been resolved weeks ago. But there’s still time to salvage the $6 billion bailout program. The government must do the right thing and axe the subsidies right now. *