Our Hugh Dalton

Our previous finance minister (Ishaq Dar) was a chartered accountant. The man now all set to take the job (Mohammad Aurangzeb) is a banker. The job of finance minister, in my view, requires an economist with specialization in public finance. A person of the calibre of Hugh Dalton, who attended the London School of Economics and served as the UK’s Chancellor of Exchequer (1945-47), is required. After the Second World War, he followed strict, austere policies and helped rehabilitate the completely shattered British economy, handing over a surplus budget to the next government.

If a person of suitable qualifications is not available among the elected MNAs, one can be elected on one of the seats vacated by members who have been elected on more than one seats. A strict austerity program is needed to reduce the fiscal deficit and, at the same time, reorient expenditure to provide relief to the poor.

Abdul Majeed

Islamabad