Eyewash

This refers to the news report ‘Govt to impose ban on imported cars for six months’ (December 1). Recent trends indicate that the economy is on the brink of a crisis. In November, the trade deficit was $5.11 billion, the highest for any month till date. However, in November 2020, the deficit had been $1.95 billion. Should the adverse trends continue, the country’s merchandise import bill could reach $ 85-90 billion for the full year as against $ 56 billion in 2020-21.

Despite these alarming trends, austerity has been abandoned. The belated decision to ban import of cars from January 2022 for merely six months is insufficient to remedy the problem. The economy is spinning out of control and there is no coherent recovery plan. Recently, the Turkish prime minister sacked his finance minister following the crash of its currency, Lira, while the head of its Central Bank was removed before that. Our prime minister should take a cue from Turkey’s example.

Arif Majeed

Karachi