Daily Times

It took only two months for the PML-N-led coalition government to put both domestic and foreign policy back on track. Internally Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif proved to be the only leader with the fortitude and public support to carry out painful reforms that are now essential if the economy is to be put back on track. This process need not have been so agonising but the incompetence and plunder combined of the PTI years brought things right to the breaking point. And everybody making a fuss about petrol prices should also understand that this, too, would not have been this big a deal if the former, selected PM hadn’t played politics with prices and people’s lives by reducing them less than a fortnight after raising them.

He could see that his government was collapsing. So he poisoned the well in a way that was sure to bulldoze the IMF bailout program, which his own government had negotiated, as well as the Suadi grant and oil facility that was linked to the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF). He spun it in a way to appear pro-people, but how much do you really help the people by making them pay a little less at the pump for a few days, and then a whole lot more for a lot longer; only because you did not approach the thing in phases as you were supposed to?

It took PM Shahbaz Sharif at the helm to begin the long process of undoing some of this damage. He’s made the people understand that much rather than play with their sentiments, he will tell them the honest truth; which is that the structural reforms that IMF is asking for are important for our efforts to expand production, employment, and then also the export base and revenue earned by the country.

PML-N has had enough experience in government to know just when it is unavoidable to bite the bullet for the greater public good.

Now that everybody has got together to gulp the bitter pill, it won’t be long before steady results start showing and everybody begins to benefit. This is one of those times that doing the right thing first hurts for a while and then brings desired results. Finally, IMF is satisfied with the sacrifices that the people are making along with the government and the rest of the bailout money should be with the state bank soon.

Externally, too, the new government has had to undo a lot of damage in very little time. There is now word from friendly countries that the PM visited over the last 60 days that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and also China are looking forward to doing business with Pakistan; investments as opposed to loans and debt this time.

There’s been a big success at FATF too. And things are happening that were not happening till there was a change of guard in Islamabad. The FATF green light will attract foreign investment in droves, something that had dried up after 2018 when the country was placed on the grey list. We should also expect a quick ratings upgrade. These things explain why the Turks and Saudis want to spend their money on investment this time, not just more loans, and the Chinese are rolling over loans that they were refusing the previous government.

This is happening because our friends in the international community finally liked what they saw and heard when PM Shahbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto made quick, crucial trips to their capitals. All PTI can do now is wallow in their bitterness because, after having made a mockery of the government and been forced out, even their attempts to sabotage the system and make the new government look bad have failed.

PML-N has had enough experience in government to know just when it is unavoidable to bite the bullet for the greater public good, even at the risk of losing precious political capital. And as we have all seen over the last few months, the PM did just that, took the pressure and the backlash, yet one by one the chips keep falling into their places; leaving critics with nothing but fairy tales about how the whole world gets together to conspire against them.

The job is not nearly done. It has, in fact, just started. But judging by the exceptionally successful display of Shahbaz Speed so far, you can be sure to be treated to a master class in how to run a complicated country with complex problems and very proud people.

The writer is a LUMS graduate and currently serves as PMLN MPA. She is a close aide of Maryam Nawaz and tweets at @hinaparvezbutt