The party’s political motives were clear -- they were embedded in the economy. Election 2013 was all about an economic turnaround for the country; terrorism did not figure in the speeches and only as an afterthought in the manifesto. The results testified that perhaps this was what the nation was looking for. PML-N emerged as the single largest party, given a clear mandate to form the next government.
Long before the prime minister was sworn in, it was known to all and sundry that Ishaq Dar will be the next finance minister. And this fact did not change. The subsequent months were spent trying to save the economy from imminent collapse. There was, of course, the circular debt issue to be settled to give some relief to the energy-deprived common man and there was an IMF loan to be secured.
One year down the road, the mark of the finance minister is there in every single economic decision. One year is also a good time to assess the performance of the government and see if it has moved beyond the short-term or damage control measures. It is enough time to see if some structural reforms have been put in place.
Our expert Pervez Tahir is not too happy with the government’s performance which he believes is "championing the financials" instead of restructuring the economy "towards the real sectors". Apart from analysing it sector by sector, he hints at the need to boost exports and to widen the tax net. Khurram Husain, the other expert, admits that "there is a perception that things are being brought under control" but he, too, says that "it’s in the structural reforms that the real game will begin".
In our Special Report today, we have separately looked at the potential for local and foreign investment, linked as they are with law and order and energy as well as the taxation problem. The perception of PML-N as an efficient economic manager is also critically looked at. This may be a fair picture of the government’s performance in twelve months and, hopefully, has some pointers to give it a direction for the future.