With nothing to show for its 11 months in power, the PDM government has come up with a plan to provide subsidized fuel to bikes and smaller cars (up to 800cc). On the face of it, the proposal is not workable and its implementation remains ambiguous. No mechanism has been announced as to how this will be executed at the pumps. It is also not clear how the subsidy would be funded. The proposal appears to be an afterthought as the same was not considered in the supplementary budget passed by parliament in February. Furthermore, the IMF is averse to any kind of subsidy where implementation is difficult to manage and prone to misuse and malpractice. Additionally, the subsidy does not help the poorer communities which do not own petrol vehicles and use diesel-fuelled public transport for daily commuting.
Arif Majeed
Karachi