Overcoming economic ills an uphill task for PTI sans dedicated team

LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan has pointed out the ills faced by the economy and his determination to overcome them; however, it is easier said than done. It would require lot of effort and time, along with a dedicated team that he lacks.

One cannot doubt the sincerity of Khan. He has delivered earlier by establishing state of art cancer hospital against all odds. People trust him with their money and that helped him construct Shaukat Khanum Hospitals, first in Lahore and then in Peshawar. They are run from billions of rupees of charity that people give on the appeal of Imran Khan.

But Pakistan is a big country and its financial needs are enormous. He built a clean team for the hospital through merit-based appointments and maintained strict internal accountability. In case of Pakistan, a corrupt mafia has remained at the helm of affairs for so long that dislodging them would be an uphill task. He would face resistance at every step.

No doubt he has nerves of steel, but most of his ministers are not made from the same metal. They may advice him to compromise for a while. Would he be able to resist the advice of his ministers?

Baring a few, most of the ministers of his cabinet are tested old stalwarts that failed to deliver in the past and were part of regimes that brought Pakistan to the current level. Shiekh Rasheed served as information minister under Nawaz Sharif and then as minister of railways in Musharraf regime. We have not heard of any improvements that he made in Railways during that tenure.

Now, he has again been entrusted with the same portfolio. Fahmida Mirza served as speaker during Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) regime. Her husband was a close friend of Zardari. Both supported every move of the PPP government (that Imran calls most corrupt) until the fallout between Zardari and her husband. Of the two ministers he has taken from MQM, one until recently defended Musharraf in treason case and also appeared for Altaf Hussain when he was in London jail. The other was part of mafia that maintained illegal torture cells in Karachi.

Two best persons he selected are his advisors. They are from Musharraf era, but both Razzak Dawood and Dr Ishrat were instrumental in reviving the economy during the first three years of military rule.

Dr Ishrat advised the PPP regime on governance, but his recommendations were not accepted. He was engaged by Shahbaz Sharif as well and many of his advises were accepted by the then Punjab government.

Similarly, Razzak gave sound advice to the subsequent governments when they approached him. These two will deliver if were able to develop full understanding with the finance minister who is inexperienced.

On personal level Imran has acted prudently. His decision to reduce the car fleet of Prime Minister House from 83 to two is commendable. His oath taking ceremony was simple and less expensive than his predecessors.

He is staying in a three bed room house leaving the 1,100 acre PM House to be converted into a research university. He is leading from the front, but he will have to ensure that his team follows him both in lifestyle and merit.

The beginning has been good, but only time will tell how persistent he stays. When Ishaq Dar presented the first budget of Nawaz government, he stated that the budget of PM house has been curtailed by 20 percent.

However, at the end of the year, it actually went up substantially as revealed by the supplementary budget. We hope that this time around the austerity would be practiced. Austerity at the top forces the lower cadre to live humbly.