Uncertainties galore

Though there has hardly been anytime in the recent history of Pakistan that we had an element of certainty, the way various levels of uncertainties are staring us in the face at the moment is rather disturbing. For one, we have the long pending issue of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) targets looming large. The FATF’s next meeting will take place by the end of this quarter, and no one can over-emphasise the need to achieve the FATF targets for the upcoming APG and plenary review of Pakistan’s progress. To reduce this uncertainty, all concerned agencies and related departments need to expedite their efforts. A failure to get out of the grey list will not be good for Pakistan and its economy. This brings us to the National Assembly session to be held on January 10 for a debate on the controversial finance supplementary bill – generally known as a mini-budget. The opposition is likely to disrupt the process, as the government is unlikely to negotiate on legislation as it has been doing for the past three years.

The third uncertainty is the political situation in the country. The opposition seems to see itself on a stronger wicket following the findings by the scrutiny committee set up by the ECP of alleged foreign funding for the PTI, which runs into millions of rupees. Following this, the opposition has suddenly gained a new lease on life with the PDM stressing that it will indeed go ahead with its long march to Islamabad on March 23 in the attempt to overthrow the government, while in a surprise move, the PPP has announced its own long march to Islamabad essentially against the price hike and inflation at the end of February. This was not expected of the PPP but could certainly add pressure on the government.

The government too appears under slightly more pressure than before, even if it is dismissing the allegations and the demands from Maryam Nawaz that Imran Khan step down immediately and be jailed. The government has said that the coming months will be crucial for it. The opposition is making attempts to benefit from the rockiness and uncertainty that the scrutiny committee findings have brought. Whether they will succeed depends on many factors. Clearly, the divide between the PPP and the PML-N and JUI-F is an obstacle. The question is whether the opposition has the ability and the strength to muster up what it is seeking and to put the government on the backfoot. The strategy then still needs to be determined and should ideally be determined with all the parties coming together on a common cause rather than attempting to stage separate marches, perhaps to put their own parties in the forefront. All this does not bode well for the country and democracy. Political and non-political entities in the country must strive to reduce the level of uncertainties in the country, whose citizens are already grappling with a debilitating winter, crippling inflation and constant shortage of power and gas.