What’s the plan?

Pakistan today faces multifarious challenges which seek fast-track solutions. Price hike, projected lower growth, mounting foreign loans, media censorship and unclear public policy are just a few on an otherwise long list. While eradicating corruption must be a common goal, to focus only on this will not help the common citizen. Now the PM has fired another broadside by his statement that if the Hudaibiya case would have been decided on merit, there would have been no money laundering. Confusing, isn’t it? The how of this has not been explained. One hopes that the PM will explain to the public the logic underlying this claim. The PM and his team must now realize, and the sooner the better, that this slogan will no longer persuade the common citizen about the performance of this government. About eight months have passed listening to the same claim over and over again. The general perception now is that the corruption rhetoric is being employed only to damage political adversaries and that the rulers are not concerned about the real problems faced by the common citizen.

Instead of justifying the unjustifiable, the rulers would be well advised to take policy measures to bring some immediate relief to the problems being faced by the people. Directing the information minister to continue to go after the political opponents will not help the rulers any more. Instead, the government should tell the people what precisely is its policy agenda to provide some relief to the general public.

Dr Zafar I Qureshi

Lahore